Brunswick rewards top language arts PEP performers

Brunswick last Friday awarded scholarships to its first cohort of Primary Exit Profile (PEP) students for outstanding performance in language arts at an awards luncheon held at the Courtleigh Hotel in New Kingston.

The county awardees – Arianna-Lauren Anderson from Kensington Primary (Middlesex), Daejonae Anderson from Excelsior Primary (Surrey) and Aliayah Isaacs from Brompton Primary (Cornwall) – all attained excellent scores in the language arts component of PEP, along with outstanding performances in the other subjects, to qualify for the scholarship.

Arianna-Lauren will be attending Campion College along with Daejonae, while Aliayah will be attending the Hampton School for Girls.

“Since its inception, the Brunswick brand has been a model of consistency and high quality, and we always seek out opportunities to align the brand with initiatives which share our best ideals. The PEP scholarship programme is one such initiative and we are delighted to collaborate with the Ministry of Education, Youth & Information in this regard,” said Simone McFarlane, acting business development manager at Brunswick.

The scholarship grant of $125,000 will be shared equally by the students to assist with expenses for their first year of high school.

WONDERFUL ADVANTAGE

“Brunswick decided to ­emphasise language arts for our ­scholarship award because we believe that it is important that we have a generation of youths able to articulate, write and comprehend the English language. Jamaica’s ideal location as the largest English-speaking island in the Caribbean gives us a wonderful advantage with our trading partners to the north,” added McFarlane.

Dr Lorna Thompson, education officer at the Core Curriculum Development Unit of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, said language arts is often overlooked in favour of the sciences, and called for more work to be done to reward those who perform well in the subject.

“English language is the official language of Jamaica and trade. Sometimes we forget what a unique position that this puts us in. Very often we hear a lot of the chemistry, physics and biology while forgetting how important English language is to speaking, writing and communication in all of its forms,” Thompson noted.

Meanwhile, Mitsie Harris-Dillon, interim president of the National Parent-Teacher Association of Jamaica, emphasised the importance of the child-parent-teacher bond in the early development of children.

“I urge parents to support and get involved in the Parent-Teacher Association of their child’s school. Get involved with the teachers as it shows a level of involvement and support that your children will recognise and will motivate them to put out more effort,” said Harris-Dillon.