When Bishop Anstey Junior School (BAJS) hosts its 50th Anniversary Recognition celebration on Saturday, December 17, Sharon Rowley, wife of Prime Minister Keith Rowley, will be the patron of the event.
She graduated from the school at Monte Cristo, St Ann’s in 1970, and says she owes much of her successes in life to the tutelage she received at the Monte Cristo institution in St Ann’s. Rowley entered BAJS in its second enrollment of students in 1967.
Esther Best, chair of the BAJS Board of Management, expressed pride in honouring the accumulation of over 363 years of service to BAJS by the people to be recognised. Rowley, as well as her sisters, children, nieces and nephew, all attended BAJS.
In an interview with the T&T Guardian this week, reflecting on her stint at BAJS, Rowley said: “I can readily say it was perhaps one of the best periods of my educational experience. Moving from Tranquility Primary to Bishop’s Junior, at the age of eight, was to me, at the time, a transition into bliss. I moved from a school where corporal punishment was the order of the day to one where discipline took the form of order marks or detentions.
“Rulers, straps and canes were unheard of, but we were all remarkably disciplined. Learning was no longer just English and Arithmetic but included Geography, History, French, Scripture, Dance, Physical Education and General Science. I was like a sponge at that age and, to this day, I remember fondly the books that I used, the teachers who made an impression, some of whom, like Angela Massiah (now Nicholls), I speak with regularly. I remember the hikes to the forest, catching fish in the river and treks to the games field which, at the time, seemed to be as large as the (Queen’s Park) Savannah.”
Rowley continued: “It was the perfect foundation for what an education should be. We were taught to be all-round students and, where you had the ability to excel, you were encouraged to do so. Without knowing it, you were being taught to reach for the stars in your endeavours.
“The moral training which you received was generally an extension of what you were taught at home. Ingrained in you were good moral values and spirituality (I was a Roman Catholic in an Anglican school but I never felt different). I had a thirst for knowledge, and punctuality and discipline were important. There was always beneficial competitiveness and I thrived on it.”
Alumni of BAJS contend that the school is the ideal crucible for forging positive family values and virtues. About the influence BAJS had on her and her family, Rowley said: “I come from a family of three girls, and once my elder sister attended the school, it was a natural progression that I should attend, as well as my younger sister. At the time it was an all girls’ school and I don’t think we have suffered as a result. We all proudly fly the BAJS flag.
“The experience was so positive and we were all so satisfied with the end-product that my younger sister and I have sent all our children to Bishop’s Junior and they have all done well. To do otherwise we would have been traitors (smile). In fact, I can safely say there was never a day when my girls did not want to go to school. They enjoyed the school immensely. I see the Junior School as part of our family legacy; a tradition which I see that my elder daughter, Tonya, intends to abide by since I hear her speaking of sending her 21-month-old son to BAJS.”
BAJS has produced many of the nation's exemplars and public figures. Ingrid Lashley is now the managing director, chief executive officer of TTMF, and Etienne Charles, who recently hosted the San Jose Suite concert at Queen's Hall, is an internationally recognised musician, recording artiste, composer, arranger, and assistant professor of Jazz Studies at Michigan State University, USA. UK-based French Caribbean composer Dominique Le Gendre is also a BAJS alumna and has written extensively for theatre, BBC radio drama, film, television and dance over the 25 years that she has been living in London.
“And there are so many others who have become lawyers, doctors, teachers, psychologists, environmental scientists, bankers, marketing specialists, managers, architects, song writers, radio show hosts, models,” added Rowley. “You name it, a former student of BAJS has excelled in the field.”
Rowley is elated at being invited to be the patron of the 50th anniversary event and hopes that the school will have another successful 50 years.
“As the patron, and as an alumni of the school, I hope that during this 50th year we are able to increase the visibility of the school as we highlight its successes and challenges, and as we endorse its vision. Through this vision we must encourage the students, the parents and the teachers to reach for that common goal, as is set out in the school’s mission statement, to develop confident, ethical and well-rounded individuals who successfully shape an ever-changing environment.
“There must be a common understanding of that destination which allows all stakeholders to align their efforts in the same direction as we prepare the children of BAJS for the journey of life.”
Bishop Anstey Junior School was a creation of Arthur Henry Anstey. In 1966 the school moved from Chancery Lane to Monte Cristo. The 50th Anniversary Celebrations will be held at the Auditorium of Bishop Anstey/Trinity College East, Trincity.