Naps carries on all-round development

THE EDITOR: I attended Naparima College from January 1964 to June 1970. (Yes, 1964 was the last time the school year started in January and also the first year it started in September.)

During that period we never once beat Presentation College (San Fernando), our perennial rivals, in the annual Inter-Col football match. After every match, all we could chant was, “We go win nex’ year.”

How times have changed. This year, Naps had the signal honour of winning the secondary schools football triple crown – the Premier League, National Inter-Col and South Inter-Col championships. As they might say in basketball, Naps achieved the triple-triple, 2018 being the third time it won the three titles, having done so in 1999 and 2015.

But even as the school celebrated this sporting triumph and revelled in the moment, principal Dr Michael Dowlath was quick to point out that Naps has a long history of developing all-round skills. I can attest to that.

In my era, even though we lost Inter-Col, we won regularly at cricket, table tennis and chess. There were elocution, oration and debating contests, among others. There was a vibrant scout troop. And Naps has almost always excelled academically since its founding in 1894 (with formal inauguration in 1900).

Forty-eight years after I left Naps, it was heartening to hear the principal reaffirm his commitment "to develop all-round men and encourage/support them in their pursuit of academic and extracurricular excellence.”

It’s hard to argue with success. All Naparima alumni can be proud of their alma mater – it still ranks among the best schools for all-round development.

NOEL KALICHARAN via e-mail