Signal Hill aims for SEA top 100, nationally

Three students of the four top-placed students in this year’s Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) exam are from Signal Hill Government Primary School, with Principal Tricia Des Vignes promising that the school will continue with excellence in education.

“In Signal Hill, we are not just competing against Tobago, it is my aim to have Signal Hill as a top school in Trinidad and Tobago. For far too long, Tobago has gone unnoticed in terms of our excellence as the first, second and third places don’t even make the top 100 in Trinidad. I am telling you things are going to change, things will be changing and when you look on the news, expect Signal Hill Government Primary to be there,” she said.

Students Da-xia James placed first, while Tori Isaac and Anaiya Wickham placed third and fourth respectively, in the exam, in Tobago.

THA Chief Secretary and Secretary of Education Kelvin Charles, who was greeted with screams of excitement and applause when he visited students on Wednesday, commended Des Vignes, saying the he shared her views on excellence in education in Tobago.

“I am particularly happy because it is clear that your principal shares my vision because I too have been making the point that there is absolutely no reason why students in Tobago cannot be in the top… actually I was perhaps a little less forceful than your principal because I was saying in the top 200, now she said in the top 100, and I am glorying in that spirit. I was very pleased when I heard her saying that because that is the vision that I have had since I came to the Division,” he told gathered students, parents and teachers.

Charles said Tobago must once again get to the point where its students were competing at the level of the other students in Trinidad.

“At least I know that Signal Hill has pledged to do that. I want to give you the commitment, principal, staff, teachers, that you do have my support because this is something that I too want to happen. Together, we would build the island of Tobago and together we would ensure that education becomes one of the pillars upon which we would ensure that Tobago continues to develop,” he said.

Charles encouraged parents to continue supporting their children.

“I also hope that the parents are as anxious and are as enthusiastic to make sure that your students, as they go forward to their next school, that you continue to support them because they are going to meet all kinds of distractions. If you don’t hold them close to you, they are likely to go astray so, please do not give up on your children, they are your children and the first responsibility is yours to ensure that they are well taken care of,” he said.