School Recognises Outstanding Students
A large crowd braved the inclement weather conditions across Anguilla on Tuesday evening to attend the Speech Night function of the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School.

A highlight of the function, held at the open-air auditorium of Campus B, was the presentation of awards to 95 students for outstanding academic performance. In addition, 31 students were awarded for outstanding athletic performance. The award-winning students were drawn from various forms of the two-campus school. The awards underscored the fact that many students were contributing of their best ability to promote themselves and to uphold the high standards which are being expected at the school.

The Annual Report of the School for 2001-2002 was prepared by former Principal, Quincy Harrigan, who relinquished his post at the end of October. It was read by his successor, Darwin Hazell.
The report showed, in part, that Anguillian students performed creditably in all of the external examinations and the results compared favourably with those elsewhere in the region. It was on this basis that so many of the island’s Comprehensive School students received awards for their performance.

The report noted that the overall success achieved by the school during the year was due to the contributions of the Ministry and Department of Education; of the many parents who remained committed to the principle of partnership in education as well as to their physical and moral support.

“School management is a complex and difficult job,” the report continued, “Any success achieved in this area during the year was the result of the collective effort, hard work, commitment and professionalism of most teachers. Members of the Senior Management Team gave sterling service and demonstrated objective leadership and abiding commitment. Teachers, therefore, must be highly commended for their sacrificial contribution to the school and the community as a whole.”
The year was described as a historic one for secondary education in Anguilla as the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School began operations as one school from two different sites. “While the advent of Camps B would have eliminated overcrowding and provided a more controlled environment, at both sites, it presented new challenges and difficulties,” the report pointed out. “Timetabling constraints necessitated that some teachers operated at both campuses and it was not always convenient to have double sessions. This new form of arrangement has increased teacher stress and in some instances has contributed to a reduction of time for some classes. It is essential that the authorities begin to re-think their decision and formulate plans for the operation of two separate schools.”

The Speech Night programme featured various presentations by the school’s Steel Orchestra, Concert Band, Choir and Steel Band. The Chairman was Kenn Banks, a former student of the Valley Secondary School, now a Civil Engineer and Permanent Secretary at the Department of Infrastructure.

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