St Martin's is a Catholic secondary school for boys aged 11-17 yrs. The school is situated in Kingstown, the capital of St Vincent and the Grenadines. 304 boys attend the school from a variety of areas and backgrounds. The school suffers a lack of resources and funding is in short supply. The majority of the children come from poor families who can barely afford to pay the fee to allow them to attend the school. Many pupils do not live with their parents. Mothers and fathers leave to find work and a better life in America or Canada and promise to send for their children. In reality the children are left to fend for themselves being brought up by grandparents or aunts and uncles. In some cases the children have to look after themselves with older siblings being the only form of care they have at home. The majority of the staff in the school are not qualified teachers. They find it difficult to control large classes of 35-40 students.
But everyone at St Martin's is trying to change the situation for the students who attend the school. Volunteer teachers have been recruited from Ireland and Trinidad. These teachers are trained and experienced in their work and have helped to ease the burden on the school. The principal has worked hard over the last year and a half since taking up his position as head, to improve the discipline in the school. Staff who were present last year all agree that there is a marked difference in the behaviour of the students.
There is a major drive at the moment to involve parents in the schooling of their children. Teachers consult and meet with parents on a regular basis to discuss the progress of their children. Without their full support the job of the teacher will be too difficult.
There are a lot of beautiful children attending this school. Given the right environment the majority of them could be successful.
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