There were shouts of joy, laughter and tears of happiness at Kingsway Preparatory School on Friday (June 20) as students, teachers and parents celebrated the outstanding performances in the 2025 Grade Six Primary Exit Profile (PEP).
Principal of the institution located on Osbourne Road in Kingston, Alethia Williams, expressed pride in the students’ achievements, noting a marked improvement over the previous year.
“Our students did extremely well,” she told JIS News, noting that several of them were placed at top high schools.
She said that the school’s target of having at least 70 per cent of students score at or above the proficient level, was exceeded.
In Science, 100 per cent of students scored at or above the proficient level; 97.3 per cent for Social Studies and Language Arts; and 89.2 per cent in Mathematics.
Dekhoi Clue stands out as the school’s top achiever earning the highest score and securing a place at Campion College.
“There are some mixed feelings because I kind of wanted [a higher score] but Campion is a very good school, so I’m happy about it,” Dekhoi told JIS News.
Other high achievers include Brianna Cole, who secured a place at Wolmer’s Trust High School for Girls, and Marquise Grant, who will attend Wolmer’s Boys.
“I feel very happy,” Brianna shared. “The first emotion I had was, I was excited. I started screaming and then was crying, but it was of joy.”
Brianna’s mother, Rose-Marie Davis-Cole, was overwhelmed with emotion.
“There were long, tedious, sleepless nights but with God’s help, we were able to go through and we are successful,” she said.
“I was at work [when I heard]. I was running all over the place, banging on doors, screaming!” Mrs. Davis-Cole told JIS News.
For Marquise, who had hoped to follow in his brother’s footsteps and attend Jamaica College, the placement at Wolmer’s Boys was still met with enthusiasm.
“I’m very happy,” he said, expressing thanks to his teachers for helping him to “push through”.
Grade six Language Arts teacher, Neisha Palmer-Murray, who was instrumental in preparing the students, said she was not surprised by their results.
“It has not come as a surprise for me because I would have charted their performance over the academic year,” she told JIS News.
She credited internal initiatives like the PEP Camp, an intensive preparation programme held over three nights and four days, for helping to reinforce learning while keeping students motivated.
“They got their play time but then they know that they will cover all the content which would adequately prepare them for exam,” she pointed out.
Mathematics teacher, Veronica Gordon, added that the journey was one of partnership and persistence. “It’s been a task, but I see where hard work really pays off,” she said.
Principal Williams extended appreciation to the staff and parents for their unwavering support.
“We want to say congratulations to our two PEP teachers – Mrs. Murray, Miss Gordon and we also want to thank our parents. We could not have done it without them,” she said.
See original story posted by the Jamaica Information Service here.