Okemo Duckie (left), teacher at McGrath High School in St Catherine, shows a bottle of coconut water, which was produced by students at the institution, to Dr Sandra Morgan (centre), head of customer experience at Victoria Mutual Building Society, and principal Dr Cynthia Anderson (right). The occasion was a tour of the school's facilities, following the launch of the Mutual Building Societies Foundation Centres of Excellence (MBSF). The MBSF is a new joint initiative of the Jamaica National Building Society and the Victoria Mutual Building Society to assist in finding solutions through the establishment of the centres of excellence for underperforming non-traditional rural schools. - Ian Allen/Staff Photographer

McGrath High School, a non-traditional high school in St Catherine, has been been selected to become a centre of excellence by the Mutual Building Societies Foundation (MBSF).

The MBSF, a new joint initiative of the Jamaica National Building Society and the Victoria Mutual Building Society, seeks to assist in finding solutions through the establishment of the centres-of-excellence initiative.

The centres of excellence will be implemented during a five-year period and will employ the effective school model. The programme is to be guided by an expert project team that will manage key performance indicators and target specific interventions.

Thirty-seven non-traditional schools which were underperforming and located in rural areas were asked to submit entries. Eight were shortlisted and McGrath High and Mile Gully High were selected to participate in the pilot project towards becoming a centre of excellence. The schools will both receive $11 million during the next three years to implement a school-development programme to improve student performance, teacher quality and organisational effectiveness.

pleased

Speaking yesterday during the launch of the programme, Dr Cynthia Anderson, principal of the school, said she was pleased that the two building societies had selected McGrath to be a centre of excellence.

Anderson said McGrath High was a cutting-edge institution which, each year, graduated competent individuals. "Over the years, we recognise that we are measured by good passes in (Caribbean Secondary Secondary Education Certificate) CSEC," said Anderson.