MORE ABOUT BOARDING SCHOOLS IN THE CARIBBEAN

Primary education begins at age 5 in the English-speaking Caribbean. In the Netherlands Antilles, it starts at age 6. Primary schooling ends at age 11 in most countries, except for Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Bermuda, and the Netherlands Antilles, where it ends at age 12, and Montserrat and St. Lucia where it ends at age 12.5 and age 17 respectively.

In most countries, standardized tests are given at the end of the sixth grade of primary education to enter secondary education. The emphasis is on academics, and language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies are the main areas tested.

In 1998, the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) introduced a 6-point grading system for the CSEC, the national leaving exam taken after high school throughout the Commonwealth Caribbean. After completing 11 years of primary and secondary education, boarding school students sit for the examination roughly when they graduate from secondary boarding school. Students begin studying for the CSEC exams while in Grade 10, usually completing them by the end of Grade 11.

In the countries of the Commonwealth Caribbean (Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago), boarding school students generally receive a high school transcript and high school diploma/certificate of graduation / Certificate of Attainment of Form V after completing 11 years of primary and secondary education. These documents indicate that the student has completed the boarding school’s requirements for graduation, but these documents are not acceptable for further education within the Commonwealth except for vocational studies.

A high school boarding school diploma does grant access to employment and further education in technical and vocational programs in the Caribbean; boarding school students must sit for the external graduation examinations from the Caribbean Examinations Council to be considered comparable to high school boarding school graduation in the U.S.

A high school boarding school diploma from the Caribbean is considered comparable to completion of secondary education but is not the equivalent of high school graduation in the U.S. The high school diploma/school leaving certificate leads to employment and vocational training.

To pursue further education and employment within the Commonwealth, boarding school students are typically required to take the Caribbean Secondary Examination Certificate (CSEC). Their results on the CSEC determine which paths are available to them. Since the school documents have no bearing on further education (except for scholarship opportunities), it is not unusual to see poor performance on boarding school records but excellent or great scores on the external examinations that lead to further opportunities.

Going to a boarding school on an island in the Caribbean is what most students dream of doing. Not only will boarding school students receive an excellent education, but they will also experience a different culture which will open their hearts and minds as they explore the Caribbean.

Boarding Schools in the Caribbean (CARIB) include Christian boarding schools in the Caribbean (CARIB), Junior boarding schools in the Caribbean (CARIB), Therapeutic Boarding Schools in the Caribbean (CARIB), Co-ed Boarding Schools in the Caribbean (CARIB), All Girls Boarding Schools in the Caribbean (CARIB), All Boys Boarding Schools in the Caribbean (CARIB), Military Boarding Schools in the Caribbean (CARIB), Private Boarding Schools in the Caribbean (CARIB), Day Boarding Schools in the Caribbean (CARIB), Weekly Boarding Schools in the Caribbean (CARIB), and International Boarding Schools in the Caribbean (CARIB).