Boys excelling at St Andrew’s Anglican Primary

2026-03-21 - 00:46

Senior Reporter elizabeth.gonzales@guardian.co.tt At a time when national education data often shows boys trailing behind girls academically, one Tobago primary school is reporting the opposite trend. At St Andrew’s Anglican Primary School, boys are consistently leading the top academic positions, a development the school says reflects years of targeted strategies aimed at closing the traditional achievement gap. Principal Nicole Henry told Guardian Media that the pattern has been noticeable across several classes at the school, where boys often make up the majority of the top performers. “In many of our classes, you would find that 15 out of 25 students are boys, and they are the ones placing within the top seven positions academically,” Henry said in an interview. The school has a population of about 465 students and operates under what Henry described as a strict grading structure. An “A” requires students to score 90 per cent and above, while those who maintain an average of 80 per cent or more are placed on the Principal’s Honour Roll. According to Henry, nearly three-quarters of the student body qualifies for the honour roll each term. “At St Andrew’s, we realise that the students who are in the top echelons of our school are males,” Henry said. “Our boys are outperforming the girls and that is not seen nationally or even locally.” Henry, a literacy specialist trained through a United Nations programme, said the shift did not happen by accident. Her academic research focused specifically on the underachievement of boys in the classroom, and many of the strategies implemented at the school were designed to address that issue. “My thesis was the underachievement of boys,” she explained. “Most of the strategies are tricks that would work for boys, and once it worked for boys, it was even better for girls.” The school has also been seeing strong academic results in national competitions. Recently, students from the upper classes swept the top placements in the National Tutor Creative Writing Competition, placing first, second, third and fourth across Trinidad and Tobago. In 2023, the school recorded one of its strongest academic years, with students placing within the national top ten in the Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) while also maintaining strong performances in sports. Henry credits much of the school’s success to leadership and mentorship, saying guidance from senior educators throughout her career helped shape the approach she now brings to the institution. “Everything in society lies upon leadership,” she said. “I have had some good mentors that have passed on great leadership skills to me, and due to that I am able to pass it on to others.” Beyond academics, the school has also focused on strengthening literacy and encouraging positive male role models in the lives of students. One such initiative is the “My Daddy Can Read” programme, which invites fathers and other male figures into classrooms to read storybooks with students. “So, the men come in and they read to the classes their favourite storybook,” Henry explained. “The children now, especially my boys, they would see that initiative and they would tend to want to read.” Henry said the school’s goal is not only to produce strong academic results but also to develop responsible, confident students. Ten years into her leadership at St Andrew’s Anglican Primary, she said the focus remains on creating an environment where both boys and girls are equipped to excel long after they leave the classroom. And Henry aims to continue that trend.