By Nagra Plunkett, Staff ReporterWESTERN BUREAU:
IN 1884 THE Silas Girls School in the hills of southern Trelawny opened its door to one student, Mary Brown. The school's population swelled to 32 eight years later and accepted its first male student, Noel Linton.
A hundred and eighteen years later and after several name changes and with an enrolment of 410 students, the Troy All-Age School is playing a vital role in the educational need of an entire community.
With the inclusion of male students the school's name was changed from St. Silas Girls School to the St. Silas School. In 1902, it was again changed to the Troy Elementary School and it was again changed to Troy All-Age School in 1945. The headmistress, Carmen Daley and her staff of 10 teachers are entrusted with the task of training and moulding the lives of the children that pass through the doors of the institution.
"The discipline is good among students," remarked Miss Daley, who is the fifth principal of Troy All-Age. "We don't have any problem that we can't handle, in fact we don't have a guidance counsellor here."
She said that there are extra-curricular activities for the students including 4H, drama, reading and the cricket clubs. The cricket club has won four trophies in the National All-age Cricket Competition, the last one coming in 2001. There is also a garbage management programme that is geared towards students keeping the school premises clean and beautifying their surroundings.
Its community is a rural farming district about 13 miles from Christiana in Manchester. The Carter family originally owned the property and named it after one of the sons, Troy Carter.
