Rol-J Williams of Gingerland Secondary School and Brianna Brantley of the Charlestown Secondary School in the Federation of St Kitts and Nevis are the first place winners in the respective categories of the 2014/2015 OECS Essay Competition, hosted and sponsored by the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB).
Rol-J emerged winner of the age 14 – 16 category with his essay on the topic: “Given the advancement in communication and technology, the current policy regarding students’ use of cell phones at school needs revising. Discuss”. Rol-J is of the view that cell phones can irrefutably aid in educational and social development; however, they can prove a failure in other areas including classroom concentration and social problems.
Brianna won the age 17 – 19 category with her discussion on the same topic. Brianna suggests that current policies regarding students’ use of cell phones at school need to be revised as the advantages of these devices outweigh the detriments. She further states that the use of these devices can lead to an improvement in standardised test scores.
The OECS Essay Competition, which is part of the ECCB’s community outreach programme, is aimed at encouraging critical thinking and raising the awareness of secondary school and college students in the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) on issues of economic and social development.
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Eighty-nine (89) students, from 28 schools submitted entries. The essays were assessed for content, soundness of points, logical development, knowledge of the subject, command of language and presentation.
Jeannelle Thomas of the North East Comprehensive School and Marie-Ange Emanuel of the Covent High School in the Commonwealth of Dominica were the second and third place winners respectively in the age 14-16 category. In the age 17–19 category,
Nadia Browne of the Montserrat Community College in Montserrat captured second place while Fazim Persuad of the Nevis Sixth Form College in the Federation of St Kitts and Nevis placed third.
The first place winners in each of the categories will each be awarded a $2,500 cash prize and a grant of $1,500 will be awarded to their respective schools. The students who placed second will each receive $1,500 and their schools will be presented with a grant of $1,000; while the third place winners will each receive $1,000 and their schools a grant of $500.
The St Joseph’s Convent in Saint Lucia and the Montserrat Secondary School will be awarded a grant of $500 each for submitting the most entries in the top 10. Certificates of recognition will also be awarded to students in each category for the essays which did not place among the top three but were adjudged the best in the respective countries.
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| 2015 OECS Essay Competition – Best in Country Winners | |
| Name of Student | Country/School |
| Category: Age 14 – 16 | |
| Karima Nicholas | Saint Lucia – St Joseph’s Convent |
| Jenalyn Weekes | Montserrat – Montserrat Secondary School |
| Germaine La Borde | Grenada – St Andrew’s Anglican Secondary School |
| Ariana Joseph | Antigua and Barbuda – Christ the King High School |
| Chad Hodge | Anguilla – Albena Lake Hodge Comprehensive School |
| Chrislon Froser | St Vincent and the Grenadines – St Vincent Grammar School |
| Category: Age 17 – 19 | |
| Curth Hypolite | Saint Lucia – Sir Arthur Lewis Community College |
Note: No entries were received from Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada and St Vincent and the Grenadines for the Age 17 – 19 category.