Best: 11-Plus too hard for children

Principal of Hillaby Turner’s Hall Primary School, Karen Best, is calling for a drastic change to the structure of the annual Common Entrance Examination. Best made this call while delivering her school’s report at the graduation ceremony at Lester Vaughan School on Wednesday. “The level of the Barbados Secondary Schools Entrance Examination is way too high. Most of the content in both the mathematics and the English syllabus is pitched at the secondary level. The time has come for serious decisions to be made,” she said.Best added she was very happy that people finally were realising where the difficulty actually lay. She noted the problem did not rest with the pupils or the teachers. “The reality is that this section of the English papers is too difficult for ten- and 11-year-old pupils. The same thing [applies] with the maths papers. Something must be done about it,” Best stressed.During her feature address, pastor Marion Corbin told those in attendance that the choices they made today would determine their tomorrow.“This graduation means that you have successfully completed your primary education. However, this is just the beginning of the long road which you must travel before the journey is complete,” she said.Corbin added: “Those of you who were committed, dedicated, and hardworking, you will feel a sense of accomplishment and fulfilment, and those who did not do as well as the others, you will feel dejected and despondent. All not lost“I say to you: All is not lost. There is still room for improvement. You can correct the mistakes you’ve made. You will have other opportunities to redeem yourself. Remember, perseverance seldom fails.”Corbin also pointed out that good manners and behaviour were very important in shaping their lives and future. “These are two qualities that can take you where money can’t. A good reputation is better than having all the money in the world. When your reputation is destroyed, then your life is ruined forever. Grab hold of the opportunity now and you will reap the rewards later,” she said. (CH)