An 11-year-old blind student from St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) has captured national attention for her extraordinary performance in the 2024 Caribbean Primary Exit Assessment (CPEA), earning a spot at one of the country’s most prestigious secondary institutions. Former East St. George Member of Parliament and ex-finance minister Camillo Gonsalves, who left office after November 2023’s general election, shared the inspiring news in a public Facebook video posted Saturday, highlighting what he calls a defining milestone for inclusive education in the nation.
Faith Grant, who was born without sight, completed her primary education at Fair Hall Government School, an institution that has pioneered a mainstream inclusive education programme for students with physical and learning disabilities. Out of 1,760 CPEA test-takers across SVG, Grant ranked 43rd overall and 19th among all female students — a result that secured her admission to the elite Girls’ High School (GHS).
Gonsalves emphasized that Grant took the exact same standardized examination as every other student, with only targeted accommodations made to help her access test content. A trained invigilator read all questions aloud to her, and for visual components such as geometric diagrams, test staff described shapes by tracing their outlines on her hand or back to help her conceptualize the information. Despite these additional barriers, Grant not only passed the high-stakes exam but outperformed the vast majority of her sighted peers.
The former MP, who has followed Grant’s academic journey closely for years, shared that the young student has long dreamed of attending GHS, a goal that has now become a reality. He described Grant as a multilingual, high-energy learner with an insatiable love of literature and a natural aptitude for mathematics and science. At Fair Hall Government School’s graduation ceremony held June 12, Grant already received multiple academic awards, and she now stands as the school’s highest-ranking CPEA graduate in this year’s cohort.
Gonsalves credited much of Grant’s success to the intentional inclusive education model implemented at Fair Hall Government School, led by principal Angella Kydd Roberts. Several years ago, school leadership made a deliberate decision to integrate students with physical and learning challenges into the general student body, providing them with the same core curriculum as their peers while offering specialized support. The school counts a number of faculty with formal special education training, and even uncertified staff have embraced the institution’s mission, adapting their teaching methods to meet diverse student needs with creativity and care. Grant is not the first student with special needs from Fair Hall to advance to secondary education, but Gonsalves confirmed she is the highest-achieving in the school’s history based on CPEA outcomes.
Placing Grant’s achievement in historical context, Gonsalves noted that when he was a child, blind students in SVG were excluded from mainstream primary education entirely, let alone offered access to elite secondary schools. Grant’s admission to GHS marks a historic first for the nation, and Gonsalves framed her success as both a personal victory and a national milestone for SVG’s evolving education system. While he acknowledged that additional accommodations will be needed to support Grant during her secondary studies, he expressed full confidence in her ability to overcome any future obstacles.
To support Grant’s transition to GHS, Gonsalves has issued a public appeal to corporate entities and good corporate citizens across SVG to provide financial support for specialized assistive technology. Grant is currently learning braille, but many advanced secondary school textbooks and learning materials — particularly those with complex diagrams and illustrations — are not available in braille format. Modern adaptive tools can convert these materials into accessible formats for Grant, but the equipment carries a high price tag that is out of reach for most families. Gonsalves urged local businesses to connect with Grant’s mother to offer support that will remove barriers to her continued academic success.
Closing his message, Gonsalves emphasized that Grant’s achievement was a collective effort, thanking her family, the school’s principal, and all of her teachers for the support that brought her to this point. “It really has been a village that has taken Faith to this point,” he said. He ended with a hopeful pun on Grant’s first name, echoing the SVG national anthem: “I know she’ll go further, and I know that our faith will see us through. Big up.”