A total of 3 426 students will write this year’s Barbados Secondary Schools’ Entrance Examination (BSSEE) when it is held on Tuesday, May 8. That figure is up by 96 students compared to last year.
According to the Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, this number comprises 1 738 males and 1 688 females, who are registered to write the examination at 22 secondary schools across the island.
This year, 14 students have requested permission to write the examination at an early age (that is at ten years).
The Ministry has also reported that 109 students have made requests to be deferred from writing the BSSEE until 2019. Of those, 106 were granted permission to defer.
Forty-eight students have also been granted exemptions from writing the examination.
Additionally, there have been 111 special requests made by parents on behalf of their children. These were mainly for extra time and enlarged print.
The BSSEE, usually referred to as the Common Entrance Examination or the 11-Plus, will also be taken, by 148 non-nationals, who have met the immigration requirements.
As a result of the May 8 exam, the Ministry of Education has advised that there will be no classes for students who attend secondary schools, as these facilities will be used as examination centres. (BGIS)
