Re: A Level Scholarship requirements

With regard to the new requirements for A Level Scholarships, the requirement of having to sign a declaration regarding the intention of attending a tertiary institution in a Commonwealth country will be a difficult criteria to meet for some, as most Caymanians prefer to go the U.S. for advanced education. Therefore I do not see how many Caymanians will benefit from this any longer. This will hinder a lot of Caymanians from gaining the opportunity of A level education, as a lot of them may not be able to afford the full cost, because of not being able to commit to this requirement.

A question for clarity is, will students that want to continue their education in Cayman at i.e UCCI, Cayman Law School and St. Matthew's Medical School be eligible for this? As I noted that Cayman was not listed as an option country. I think it would be very practical to allow children to pursue their advanced education at the Cayman institutions, as this suits many of them and is all some of them can afford for a higher education.

Any positive input on these comments would be appreciated, as I feel that a lot of Caymanians will not benefit from these scholarships anymore, with such a requirement. (Especially those that intend to fund their own college education) A concerned Caymanian. (FYI - See topic below)

‘A’ Level Scholarship Funding for New Applicants Entering Year 12

1. The deadline for the receipt by Education Council of all applications for local scholarship funding is 30 June 2010.  Late applications may not be considered for funding.

2. All Local Scholarship applications are to be processed by Education Council; therefore all applications are to come to the Scholarship Secretariat at the Ministry of Education for the attention of Danielle Japal. Applications may however be submitted via your current secondary institution.

3. Eligibility for ‘A’ Level Scholarships will depend on the intent to attend a tertiary institution in a Commonwealth country (e.g. the UK, Canada, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados).  A declaration is to be signed by the student/parent acknowledging that pursuing further studies outside of the Commonwealth may limit their ability to obtain subsequent scholarship funding.  The signed declaration is to be included with the completed application form.

4. To be eligible for an ‘A’ Level Scholarship, applicants must achieve a minimum of 5 IGCSE/GCSE/CXC higher passes including English and Maths.   Students not meeting the criteria for IGCSE/GCSE/CXC Maths may choose to self-fund their AS year and re-sit this subject. These students then will be eligible or funding for their A2 year should they pass with a C/3 grade or higher.

5. Funding for the ‘A’ Level Programme in the 2010/11 academic year will vary as follows:

a.     Students attaining a minimum of 7 IGCSE/GCSE/CXC higher passes with an overall average of B/2 or a total of 49 points, where A * = 11 points, A/1 = 9 points, B/2 = 7 points and C/3 = 5 points, will be awarded funding of CI$7,000. (IGCSE/GCSE ‘higher passes of C or above are considered equivalent to 3 and above at CXC).

b.    Students attaining a minimum of 5 to 6 IGCSE/GCSE/CXC higher passes with an overall average of B/2 or a total of 35 points, where A* = 11 points, A/1 = 9 points, B/2 = 7 points and C/3 = 5 points, will be awarded funding of CI$5,000. (IGCSE/GCSE ‘higher passes of C or above are considered equivalent to 3 and above at CXC).        

‘A’ Level Scholarship Funding for Recipients Entering Year 13

To current ‘A’ Level scholarship recipients due to enter Year 13:

Education Council is working to bring the management of the ‘A’ Level programme in line with other local programmes.  Therefore beginning 2010/11 academic year, continued scholarship funding for Year 13 will be dependent on AS results achieved in Year 12.  The minimum standard required is C, C, D, in 3 out of 4 subjects taken.