The New Central High School will retain its ‘A’ Grade status, while the St Mary’s High School, which it was merged with, is set to be phased out.
In September 2019, Central High School, which was located on Smyth Street, Georgetown, was merged with St Mary’s High and then branded as “The New Central High School.”
According to Marcia Paddy-Andrews, Regional Education Officer within the office of the Deputy Chief Education Officer, the intention of the ministry was not to merge Central with St Mary’s or any other high school. In an interview with this newspaper, Paddy-Andrews explained that the ministry for a long time was facing the issue of what should be done with Central High School as the building in which it was located was deemed not safe and did not have adequate facilities for students and teachers.
The Regional Education Officer related that initially, they were looking to have the school relocated within Georgetown, however, after looking at and suggesting multiple places, the parents did not agree to any of the spaces suggested. She noted that the places suggested would have taken the school and students out of the catchment area which it was in, thereby creating an added burden for parents.
Paddy-Andrews disclosed that as a result Central High had stopped the intake of Grade 7 students and was faced with being phased out. She told Stabroek News that they, however, came up with an alternative, which was to indirectly merge Central and St Mary’s High and in turn phase out St Mary’s.
While the temporary merger was met with criticism from past students of Central High School, the Regional Education Officer noted that the school will retain its current grade status as they work to phase out St Mary’s High School. She went on to say that in September, the school will take in students for the grade status that Central High School was known for, while persons who gain marks that would have given them the opportunity to attend St Mary’s will be placed in other schools within the catchment area of the same grade status.
She further added that with the merger, students who came from the Central High School into “The New Central High School” will continue to be taught and prepared for the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) while the students from St Mary’s High who are not high achievers (academically) and not recommended to write CSEC, will continue to be taught and prepared for the Secondary Schools Proficiency Examination (SSPE), which is an examination geared for students who did not obtain the level required to write CSEC. Paddy-Andrews said that currently, the only separation within the school are the Grade 11 students, where some are preparing for CSEC and others are not. She added that the lower school students (Grades 7-10) are working together, so as to prevent segregation and conflict between the students who came from the various schools.
She then told Stabroek News that a concern of many parents was having their children taught by teachers of St Mary’s High School. Paddy-Andrews dismissed that by stating that teachers at both schools are all graduate teachers and received the same training. She pointed out that as it stands, the school currently has an adequate number of teachers and can even be classified as overstaffed. However, she noted that in such a case, the teachers would be able to give much needed attention to students without being overwhelmed.
In September, The New Central High School will intake students who sit the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) and gain marks to be placed at what once was Central High School. There will be no intake for students who gain scores equivalent to that needed for St Mary’s High as the school will be phased out and those students will be placed at other schools within the catchment area. She went on to say that while there are concerns about The New Central High School continuing as a “Board School,” it is up to the Alumni chapters and bodies to decide or make changes within their organisation.
