IN JAMAICA Careers & Education : Iris Gelly Primary shines.....MANY of its students are from poor single parent households or are orphans whose parents' lives were snuffed out through gun violence....manages to churn out scholarship recipients, talented athletes and socially aware students each year from its Arnett Gardens locale.

Grade 3 students take time from their
lessons to greet our cameras.
 (PHOTOS :KARL MCLARTY)

MANY of its students are from poor single parent households or are orphans whose parents' lives were snuffed out through gun violence. Still, Iris Gelly Primary School manages to churn out scholarship recipients, talented athletes and socially aware students each year from its Arnett Gardens locale.

The institution is highly regarded by parents from the surrounding communities in the Kingston 5 area, because the majority of students at the institution are able to get placement at some of the most sought after traditional high schools in the Corporate Area each year. The school's GSAT examination results surpass the national average and its present literacy rate is over 80 per cent. But perhaps even more encouraging for principal Veronica Gaynor is the fact that most parents have realised the role the school has been playing in the lives of their children to unearth their potential and give them a chance to extend themselves beyond their circumstances.

The Iris Gelly Cub Scouts

"Parents in here will call us the prep school of Arnett Gardens. 'Ghetto Prep', that's what they call us," said Gaynor.

"We try to ensure that the children achieve success and we try not to keep them in the inner city. We try to expose them as much as possible. So if a child wants to choose Campion College, we try to work with the child, work with the parents, and offer guidance," she said.

Gaynor said many of the students had not been made to venture far outside their immediate environs prior to going to the institution. As such, the school has sought to get them more acquainted with life outside the inner city. more