WHAT MAKES NAPS SO SUCCESSFUL

ANOTHER academic year, another heap of scholarships for students of Naparima College!

Naparima College, which schools male students, and Naparima Girls’ College, remain bastions of scholastic success, as evidenced by the annual crop of scholarships.

The girls’ institution this year copped 19 of the 100 schols offered by the Government to the entire academic community.

An analysis finds that the Naparima brand has always been synonymous with academic accomplishments.

At a time when many State-run and denominational schools are floundering for various reasons, Naps has remained consistent in producing high-achieving students.

The mission and vision statements essentially tell the story.

The mission is “to provide holistic education toward self-actualisation.”

Further, the college aims to “foster a love of learning in a spiritually enriched and caring environment that promotes traditions of excellence and a sense of social responsibility.”

The vision is “the continued pursuit of academic excellence based on the noblest ideas and principles within a rich moral and spiritual framework in a safe and peaceful physical and social environment.”

Those values capture the essence of the Naparima ethos, which the institutions have routinely met throughout their long and highly successful history.

The boys college, at Paradise Pasture in San Fernando, was founded in 1894 by Presbyterian missionary Dr. Kenneth Grant.

Grant was the pioneering Canadian missionary who worked among Indians in Trinidad from 1868.

After due diligence, the school was recognised by the colonial authorities in 1900 as a bona-fide educational institution.

The girls’ college, located at La Pique Hill overlooking San Fernando, was started in 1912 by Rev. Dr. Fulton Coffin.

Academics aside, both schools have excelled in arts, sports, and other extra-curricular activities.

There is high participation of former students in non-academic events to help develop well-rounded citizens.

While there have been a number of outstanding teachers over the years, the leadership of the boys’ college from 1966 to 1993 by Dr. Allan McKenzie is often cited as a golden era of performance and attainment.

Beulah Meighu’s stewardship of the girls’ school in the 1960 and 1970 is still a high water mark.

Through the years, the Naparima colleges have remained akin to success, discipline, focus, purpose, and merit.

A national commentator attributes the achievements to leadership and the development of critical thinking skills among students.

Those principles and standards are as rich today as they have ever been.

The achievements and scholarships are expected to keep coming.