CUL DE SAC:---- St. Maarten Academy’s sixth form student Maria Prince has emerged the top performer for St. Maarten at the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (C.A.P.E.). Prince was one among the first group of students to sit the regional examination offered by the Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) in May/June 2015. She attained distinctions (Grade I) in three out of the four subjects she sat – Pure Mathematics Unit 1, Physics Unit 1, and Biology Unit 1.
The results released by CXC on Monday, August 11, 2015 saw St. Maarten’s first cohort of twenty-six (26) students of the CAPE programme achieving 100% pass rate in five (5) of the seven (7) subjects offered by St. Maarten Academy. There were 100% passing in Accounting Unit 1, Communication Studies, Information Technology Unit 1, Management of Business Unit 1, and Physics Unit 1. There was also 75% passing in Biology Unit 1. Only Pure Mathematics recorded a pass rate of 42%.
The CAPE students performed admirably and special mention must be made of the other students who garnered distinctions in the various subjects, including Angelica Sooknandan, who achieved a Grade I in Pure Mathematics and Tomori Tomlinson, who copped a Grade I in Communication Studies. Both Sooknandan and Tomlinson along with students Akesha Flanders, Jeffeny Fidel Balthazar, Arion St. Clair, Denzel Romney and Antonia Faucher all performed excellently copping Grades I-III in the majority of their subjects.
“At the CAPE examinations, achieving Grades I-III is admirable, as a pass rate at the CAPE level goes from Grades I-V,” explained CAPE Coordinator Roxanne Bloomfield. These results are the first year of a two-year programme and so these students will continue to the second year where they will attain their Caribbean Associate Degree.
The Board of Management of St. Maarten Academy would like to use this medium to congratulate the students, staff, parents and other stakeholders for the excellence achieved in this first sitting of the CAPE examinations.
The Foundation for Academic and Vocational Education (FAVE) launched its C.A.P.E. programme through the academic section of St. Maarten Academy on September 8, 2014. Principal Drs. Tallulah Baly-Vanterpool remarked that it was the initiative of former principal Shareed Hussain and his team, who approached former Minister of Education Patricia Lourens to make CAPE happen.
“We are grateful as an institution, that although there was a change in Ministers, our current Minister of Education, Culture, Sports and Youth Affairs, Mrs. Rita Bourne-Gumbs continues to offer support this initiative,” said Baly-Vanterpool.
“I am immensely proud of the performance of our CAPE students and by extension St. Maarten. The Government and our School Board took a leap of faith with CAPE, which offers an alternative to students who are too young, or unable to go abroad to further their studies or university education.” Additionally, the graduates of CAPE that opt to enter the workforce will be more marketable than a CSEC graduate.
The principal said that although CAPE is a new program in our community, it is the hope that the labour market recognizes its graduates for their accomplishments and reward them accordingly.
“So as we prepare to start a new year, let us not forget the past, but use the knowledge to build on it and create a bigger and better future. CAPE has been the St. Maarten Academy’s initiative, but it is now part of St. Maarten’s legacy. This programme shows the continued commitment of our board, teaching and administrative staff to develop the whole child through our ever-dynamic and expanding curricula and extra-curricular programmes. With that in mind, I urge all of us to continue to work together to produce the kind of citizens who will not only excel academically, but morally, exemplifying the values that make us proud as an institution, community and an emerging island-nation, said Baly-Vanterpool.
The current sixth form students will now move on to year 2 to complete their Caribbean Associates Degree, which will put them in a position to be exempted from certain first year courses at college.
St. Maarten Academy’s application period for the CAPE programme remains open until August 21, 2015. Interested applicants can visit the academic campus to collect their CAPE packages or speak to the CAPE Coordinator for further information.
For more information about CAPE, please contact St. Maarten Academy at 721-548-3780, Roxanne Bloomfield at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or visit www.stmaartenacademy.com.
