On February 10, 2022, the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) announced that Queen’s College was designated the 2021 School of the Year for the Region. Yesterday, the students, teachers, staff and alumna of Queen’s College held a celebration in honour of the school receiving the title.
The school also held its popular Market Day activity which has not been held for close to two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Declaring yesterday’s activity open was the Minister of Education and Alumni, Priya Manickchand.
Minister Manickchand said that there are several factors responsible for students and schools performing exceptionally well. Among these is a well-managed school, dedicated teachers, a supportive household, a child who is interested in education and a responsive government.
She said that the Government of Guyana has education as a priority and is working to build a world-class education system in Guyana. She said that this will not only involve the improved physical infrastructure but also make sure teachers are trained and retrained in the system.
In addition to these measures, the Education Minister said that the infusion of technology and its use in the classroom is also important. Further, Minister Manickchand said that parents need to feel supported through the issuance of cash grants, textbooks and the ability to access excellent health care.
She said that Guyanese have to commit themselves to making the lives of children better so that they can realize their full potential.
Headteacher of the school, Mrs. Candaice Cave-Stephen said that over the years, Queen’s College and students of the school received awards for outstanding performances in several areas. However, she said what makes this celebration different is that the school has been named ‘School of the Year’ for the second consecutive year.
“Queen’s College was awarded the school which produced the most outstanding overall student for both the CSEC and CAPE level. We are creating history and we must commend our students, the Ministry and all other stakeholders,” Mrs. Cave-Stephen said.
She told students that the bar has been raised high and that they have the opportunity to outperform their predecessors.
In January of this year, CXC announced that several students were named as recipients of many awards. Samuel Haynes was named as the Region’s Most Outstanding Overall student at the 2021 CAPE and Zaynab Shaffie was named as the Region’s Most Outstanding Overall student at CSEC 2021 examinations.
Back in 2020, Zane Ramotar and Bhedesh Persaud received the same awards respectively. Because of the performances of these four students and being awarded the two awards, the school was named School of the Year twice in a row.
However, other students also received CXC Regional Awards. The top Humanities award was given to Roshni Samaroo while Sarena Razak was awarded for the most outstanding performance in Technical Vocational Education. Riley Nurse, another Queen’s College student received the ACCA/CSEC Accounting Award for Principles of Accounts.
