Carib Scope

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  • Woman remanded on ammunition, cannabis charges

    Woman remanded on ammunition, cannabis charges

    A 31-year-old self-employed Barbadian woman is now being held at Dodds Prison after facing multiple weapons and drug charges in a Bridgetown district court this week. Marisa Kathey-Ann Jackson, a resident of 9 Rendezvous Ridge in Christ Church, appeared before Acting Chief Magistrate Douglas Frederick at District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court No. 1 to answer to four separate offences, all alleged to have occurred on August 18.

    The first charge accuses Jackson of being in possession of 40 rounds of ammunition without the required legal license, a offence that falls under the country’s strict firearms control regulations. Under local court procedure, defendants in such matters are not required to enter an initial plea during their first appearance, so no plea was formally recorded from Jackson during the hearing. Three additional drug-related charges are also laid against her: simple possession of cannabis, trafficking of the controlled substance, and possession of cannabis with the explicit intent to supply it to others.

    Jackson, who is being represented by defense attorney Shakira Emtage, was remanded into custody by Acting Chief Magistrate Frederick, with her next scheduled court date set for September 18. This step was taken to allow law enforcement officials to complete their ongoing investigation into the allegations, and to prepare the case for trial proceedings moving forward.

  • 34 students earn national academic awards

    34 students earn national academic awards

    Thirty-four outstanding young scholars across Barbados have been awarded the country’s highest national academic distinctions for 2026, following exceptional performance across regional secondary examinations and post-secondary associate degree programs. The cohort includes 12 recipients of the prestigious Barbados Scholarship, 21 winners of the Barbados Exhibition, and one student honored with the exclusive Award of Excellence.

    Leading the pack of scholarship recipients, Queen’s College secured seven of the 12 available awards, with the seven honorees named as Azani Blades, Ethan Dear, Chaya Griffith, Kaela Hinds, Joshua Jemmott, Amaris Nicholls and Arrielle Thompson. Two additional scholarships went to Accalia Ince and Asia Inniss of Harrison College, while Abiygayil Wiggins from The St Michael School and two Barbados Community College (BCC) students, Maliqua Cherubin and Kamani Holder, rounded out the scholarship cohort.

    In the Exhibition category, BCC dominated the results, claiming 13 of the 21 available honors. The college’s winning students are Diamond Anthony, Leila Archer, Tremaine Bynoe, Paige Corbin, Krystiana Depeiza, Adannah Farley, Dominic Garner, Nyeka Gibson, Cherisse Mallett, Aziz Mehter, Decara Prescod, Savannah Small and Zyanna Waithe-Marshall. Two Harrison College students, Narisha Ashwanauth and Benjamin King, three from The St Michael School — Kamari Cummings, Sariah Mc Lean and Kaylee Lynch-Proverbs — and three Queen’s College scholars, Anaya Moore, Brandon Squires and Daniel Wickham, also secured Exhibition awards. Salena Rudder is the only recipient of this cycle’s Award of Excellence.

    The results were formally announced by the Ministry of Education Transformation, with Chief Education Officer Dr. Ramona Archer-Bradshaw extending official congratulations to all honorees during the announcement. She framed the recognition as a powerful reminder of why education stands as one of the most critical investments a nation can make in its future. “At this moment, Barbados honours a remarkable group of young people whose performance in the 2026 Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination, the Barbados Community College’s Associate Degree programme, and in the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate has earned them the nation’s highest academic awards,” Dr. Archer-Bradshaw stated.

    Addressing the award-winning students, she emphasized that their success was no accidental outcome, but the direct result of consistent hard work and deliberate sacrifice. “Behind every grade one, every exceptional GPA, and every scholarship qualification lies a story that very few people see,” she explained. “It is a story of very early mornings and very late nights, of balancing internal assessments with examinations, of choosing commitment over convenience… Today your names are being called because your hard work spoke louder than your obstacles.”

    In an inclusive gesture, Dr. Archer-Bradshaw also took time to recognize students who did not walk away with top national honors, but still achieved meaningful personal academic growth. “Additionally, I acknowledge those students who did not receive grade ones but whose dedication and perseverance were no less,” she said. “Your performance in the exam was your best performance to date. You put your best foot forward and achieved what you thought was not possible. We are proud of you too.”

    Dr. Archer-Bradshaw also stressed that student achievements are never the product of individual effort alone, and highlighted the critical contributions of educators, school leaders, and family members. She extended gratitude to teachers for the long hours invested in lesson planning, assignment grading, practical skill training, and consistent encouragement that helps students believe excellence is within reach. She also celebrated parents and guardians, noting their quiet sacrifices to fund educational opportunities, steady support during periods of uncertainty, and ongoing reminders to stay focused have been foundational to shaping the young scholars honored across the country.

  • Court file delays leave cases hanging for years

    Court file delays leave cases hanging for years

    Barbados’ Magistrates’ Courts are grappling with a systemic crisis of crippling delays in the completion of case files, with some accused individuals waiting three years or longer to receive the documentation needed to move their cases forward, two top legal experts have revealed. This backlog has extended pre-trial remand stays for many defendants and left both people accused of crimes and their accusers in prolonged legal limbo, creating significant threats to the fairness of the island nation’s justice system.

    Last week, acting Chief Magistrate Douglas Frederick publicly voiced his frustration over the repeated adjournments that result from incomplete files prepared by investigating officers. He noted that while Barbados Police Force is widely regarded as one of the most efficient in the world, capable of apprehending suspects within a week of most reported crimes, the failure to finalize case files after an arrest remains an intractable bottleneck. “Today, the prosecution would have gotten up and would have said: ‘We have no file. We have no file.’ And if you look at the dates of the matter, you will see that it is a little frustrating to people coming and they don’t have the files,” Frederick said.

    Senior Counsel Angella Mitchell-Gittens, speaking in an interview with Barbados TODAY, explained that file delays have become so routine that legal professionals no longer expect files to be ready within the first 12 months after an individual is charged. “I guess generally speaking you expect that there’s going to be a period when there is no file. So on average I would say within the first year I don’t have any expectation of a file and maybe sometimes even approaching the second year you have no expectation of a file,” she stated.

    Mitchell-Gittens traced the root of the issue to systemic under-resourcing, noting that a small pool of overstretched police investigators are responsible for handling all active cases, especially the more complex investigations that require significant time and resources. The human cost of these delays, she emphasized, is far-reaching. For defendants held in pre-trial detention, the delays translate to months or years of unnecessary incarceration before their case even begins. Even for defendants granted bail, the lingering open case can derail employment opportunities and upend daily life for years. Some cases remain unresolved for as long as five or six years, with defendants repeatedly appearing in court only for the matter to be adjourned once again due to a missing file.

    While some judicial officers choose to dismiss straightforward cases that have gone without a file for two years, Mitchell-Gittens noted that there is no universal rule for when dismissal is required – the decision is left to the discretion of individual judges. Crucially, she added, even a dismissal does not always bring closure for the accused. If a case is thrown out without a full adjudication on its merits, prosecution can refile the charges at a later date, leaving defendants in a permanent state of uncertainty about their future.

    Mitchell-Gittens also pointed out that even defendants who wish to plead guilty and resolve their cases quickly are trapped by the backlog. Many people who have admitted wrongdoing have been forced to return to court every 28 days for months on end, simply waiting for their file to be completed. She proposed a procedural change to ease this backlog: courts could accept partial evidence to establish that a case is triable, then transfer the matter directly to the High Court without waiting for a full, finalized file.

    Fellow Senior Counsel Andrew Pilgrim echoed these concerns, calling the failure to deliver complete case files the “fundamental and principal cause of delay in the [Barbados justice] system.” He questioned the logic of arresting and charging individuals when years pass without investigators compiling the evidence needed to proceed with a trial. “What did you charge a person for if you don’t have evidence?” Pilgrim asked, noting that the delays touch both low-level and serious criminal cases. In some instances, he added, arrests are made prematurely, before investigators have done enough foundational work to build a complete file.

    To push the system to reform, Pilgrim urged judges and magistrates to set firm, non-negotiable deadlines for prosecution to complete files. “Give the prosecution a deadline, say ‘I’m going to give you a year to be ready and if you’re not ready in a year, I’m going to dismiss it’, it will have a greater impact on the police,” he argued. He noted that while courts have historically granted police additional leeway to account for chronic understaffing, this flexibility has ultimately removed any incentive for the system to address the backlog and improve efficiency. Beyond prolonged detention and uncertainty, Pilgrim added that delays also weaken the quality of evidence, as witnesses’ memories fade years after the alleged crime – a problem that impacts both civilian and expert witnesses alike.

  • UWI scientists eye non-chemical alternatives to curb vector-borne diseases

    UWI scientists eye non-chemical alternatives to curb vector-borne diseases

    Barbados is poised to become the next site for cutting-edge mosquito-borne disease control research, as scientists from The University of the West Indies (UWI) Cave Hill’s Centre for Biosecurity Studies move forward with plans to test a locally developed lethal ovitrap and evaluate a globally successful biological control method that has drastically cut dengue rates abroad.

    For years, Caribbean nations like Barbados have relied heavily on chemical insecticides to curb populations of disease-carrying mosquitoes, particularly Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus – the primary vectors for dangerous illnesses including dengue, chikungunya, yellow fever and Zika. Growing concerns over chemical resistance and environmental impacts have pushed researchers to pursue sustainable, targeted alternatives, and two promising options are now moving toward local assessment.

    The first tool under development at UWI is the lethal ovitrap, a purpose-built trap designed to mimic the small, dark water-filled breeding grounds that container-breeding Aedes mosquitoes prefer. The design is deceptively simple: a dark water-holding container fitted with a fine mesh screen positioned below an egg-laying surface. When female mosquitoes enter the trap to lay eggs, the eggs drop through the mesh into the water below. Larvae hatch and develop, but any emerging adult mosquitoes become trapped beneath the mesh and cannot escape to continue spreading disease. Centre director Dr. Kirk Douglas calls the device a mass adult mosquito removal tool that expands the existing vector control toolkit and reduces dependence on chemical interventions.

    “It’s an innovation we have started at the Centre for Biosecurity Studies at UWI Cave Hill,” Douglas explained in an interview with Barbados TODAY. “We are hoping to launch a formal field trial soon, where we will monitor treatment areas to measure how these mass removal devices reduce transmission of not just dengue, but a range of other vector-borne diseases.”

    Alongside the ovitrap project, the centre is closely tracking the global performance of Wolbachia pipientis, a naturally occurring endosymbiotic bacteria that has emerged as a leading biological control alternative. The bacteria, which lives naturally inside the cells of many insect species, works by blocking viral replication inside mosquito bodies, preventing them from spreading dangerous diseases to humans.

    Wolbachia-based control relies on two core mechanisms. When male mosquitoes carrying the bacteria are released into wild populations and mate with uninfected wild females, the resulting eggs do not develop due to cytoplasmic incompatibility, gradually reducing overall mosquito populations. In the population replacement strategy, both male and female Wolbachia-carrying mosquitoes are released, establishing a bacteria-carrying local mosquito population that cannot transmit viral diseases. The approach has already delivered dramatic results in large-scale international trials, with an Indonesian cluster randomized trial recording a 77% drop in confirmed symptomatic dengue cases and an 86% reduction in dengue-related hospitalizations compared to untreated control areas.

    Initial skepticism about the method’s scalability and real-world effectiveness has largely been laid to rest by growing empirical evidence, Douglas noted. Currently, the United States is conducting final evaluations ahead of rolling out Wolbachia releases in warm, high-risk states including California and Florida, where mosquito-borne disease outbreaks are a recurring public health threat.

    For Barbados, where dengue outbreaks regularly strain public health resources, the method offers a long-term, sustainable way to manage vector populations at the source. “When you target the mosquito itself through biological control, you prevent new infections at the root, which makes outbreak management far more effective,” Douglas said. The UWI centre will continue monitoring global research and trial results to assess whether the Wolbachia method is a viable strategy for Barbados, alongside advancing the upcoming lethal ovitrap field trials. As public health officials around the world grapple with rising mosquito-borne disease cases linked to climate change, the research in Barbados could offer a model for other small island nations facing similar vector control challenges.

  • Cash stolen from unnamed religious organisation

    Cash stolen from unnamed religious organisation

    GEORGETOWN, Guyana – Authorities have confirmed an armed robbery targeting an unconfirmed religious organization on Georgetown’s Woolford Avenue that took place earlier this week, with four masked attackers stealing an undisclosed sum of money and assaulting an on-duty security guard, the Guyana Police Force announced in a statement Friday. The update, first released to local media on August 21, 2026 at 20:06 by correspondent Denis Chabrol, places the incident at approximately 2:45 a.m. on Tuesday, August 18.

    The victim of the confrontation is a 63-year-old security guard employed by the organization. According to police accounts of the incident, the guard was completing a routine perimeter check of the facility’s compound when he was suddenly confronted by the four attackers. Law enforcement details confirm one suspect was armed with a knife, while a second carried a crowbar. The group immediately restrained the guard and seized his personal cellphone as a precaution to prevent an early emergency call. One attacker stayed behind to guard the restrained guard while the remaining three forced entry into the main organization building.

    Investigators confirmed the suspects accessed the structure through a window on the building’s western side. Once inside, they ransacked the entire lower floor of the facility before fleeing with the stolen cash. Police have not released any details about the specific religious group targeted, declining to confirm whether the site is either the Central Islamic Organisation of Guyana or the Mahatma Gandhi Youth Organization, which both operate in the area. This lack of transparency aligns with longstanding patterns from the Guyana Police Force’s public relations division, which regularly fails to respond to follow-up media queries about ongoing investigations.

    Following the incident, the suspects successfully fled the compound before law enforcement arrived. Investigators have confirmed they have obtained closed-circuit television footage from the area and surrounding buildings, which is currently being reviewed to identify suspects and map out the timeline of the attack. No arrests have been announced as of Friday evening, and police have not indicated when further updates on the investigation may be released.

  • Panamakanaal beperkt dagelijks scheepvaartsverkeer door El Niño

    Panamakanaal beperkt dagelijks scheepvaartsverkeer door El Niño

    One of the world’s most critical maritime trade arteries is facing unprecedented strain from extreme drought, driven by one of the strongest El Niño events in recent decades. The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) announced in late August 2026 that it will implement deep cuts to the number of vessels allowed to transit the iconic interoceanic route starting September 3, responding to plummeting water reserves that are essential to the canal’s lock operations.

    Currently, the waterway accommodates 32 vessels per day. Under the new restrictions, that number will first drop to 34 daily transits on September 3, before falling further to 32 daily passages by September 15. Additional water conservation measures have already been put in place, including a reduction in the maximum allowable draft for large vessels, to slow the depletion of stored water.

    Unlike most major shipping routes, the 108-year-old Panama Canal, which connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, relies entirely on rainwater collected in two artificial reservoirs—Gatún Lake and Alhajuela Lake—to operate its lock system. The locks, which raise and lower vessels between the different ocean levels, consume large volumes of water with every transit. This year, an extreme drought across Central America, amplified by El Niño, has brought far less rainfall than expected to the canal’s watershed.

    El Niño, a cyclical climate phenomenon characterized by elevated sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific, reshapes global weather patterns, shifting wind currents, atmospheric pressure and rainfall distribution. For Central America, this shift consistently brings prolonged dry conditions and below-average precipitation. This year’s event has been particularly severe, pushing drought conditions across much of the region: just last week, Honduras declared drought emergencies for 80 percent of its national territory.

    The impact of the canal’s new restrictions extends far beyond Panama’s borders. The waterway handles roughly 5 percent of total global maritime trade volume, and carries approximately 40 percent of all container cargo that enters or departs the United States, serving as a vital link connecting trade flows between the Americas, Asia and Europe. Any disruption to transit capacity has immediate ripple effects on global supply chains, shipping schedules and logistics costs.

    This is not the first time drought has forced cuts to canal operations. Similar restrictions on daily transits and vessel draft were implemented in 2019 and 2023 during previous dry periods. But canal officials warn that the current crisis is more severe, as drought conditions are becoming increasingly frequent and intense due to long-term climate change, which has made rainfall patterns across Central America far less predictable.

    ACP officials emphasized that the immediate cuts are a necessary measure to protect the long-term sustainability of the canal, rather than just a short-term response to the current dry spell. In the longer term, the authority is working on permanent solutions, including upgrades to water management infrastructure and targeted investments to reduce the canal’s vulnerability to future drought events. As El Niño conditions persist through the end of 2026, the canal faces a prolonged period of uncertainty as it works to maintain reliable operations for the global shipping industry.

  • SSB Reports $45 Million Surplus as Pension Claims Increase

    SSB Reports $45 Million Surplus as Pension Claims Increase

    In a transparency-focused media gathering held on August 21, 2026, Belize’s Social Security Board (SSB) announced a $45 million operational surplus while issuing a public warning about growing long-term pension obligations that threaten the fund’s future stability.

    SSB Chief Executive Officer Jerome Palma framed the media mixer as a deliberate step to demystify the board’s operations, addressing widespread public confusion around three core areas: benefit disbursement, contribution collection from employers and workers, and the board’s investment strategy. The current surplus is entirely drawn from contribution payments, with the system boasting a 95% compliance rate from contributing entities – a strong performance that has propped up the board’s current financial position.

    Despite this near-term positive result, Palma highlighted a worrying trend that will reshape SSB’s financial outlook in the coming years. Pension payouts alone rose by $8 million in 2025, and this incremental increase represents a permanent new obligation for the system: the additional $8 million will be paid annually for the rest of the lifetime of the new beneficiaries accessing these benefits. Palma projected that over the next three to five years, cumulative increases in pension costs will add between $35 million and $40 million in new annual benefit obligations to SSB’s payout ledger.

    As part of the board’s ongoing five-year strategic plan to adapt to these challenges, SSB has rolled out major upgrades to its digital service infrastructure to streamline processes and improve oversight. Belizean contributors can now submit claims for retirement benefits, maternity support, and funeral grants entirely through the board’s upgraded online portal. A revamped mobile application also allows workers to directly access and review their full contribution history dating back 40 years.

    This digital upgrade also delivers a powerful new accountability tool for contributors. Workers can now identify missing employer contributions through their mobile app, then file an anonymous report directly via the SSB website. All such reports trigger an official investigation, where SSB compliance officers audit employer payroll records and engage with staff to recover any unpaid contributions that have been withheld from the system.

    In addition to service and accountability upgrades, SSB is also pursuing a $20 million investment in Hydro Belize, aligning its investment strategy with long-term sustainable asset growth while the board works to balance expanded digital self-service for the public with its core goal of long-term fund sustainability. Palma emphasized that ongoing open engagement with media and the public will remain a core priority as the board navigates this transition, ensuring full public awareness of challenges and progress across the implementation of the five-year plan.

  • Bromfietser omgekomen bij aanrijding Dageraadweg hoek Martin Luther Kingweg

    Bromfietser omgekomen bij aanrijding Dageraadweg hoek Martin Luther Kingweg

    A fatal traffic collision between a heavy goods truck and a moped left the moped’s driver dead at the scene on Tuesday morning in the Netherlands, local law enforcement confirmed. The crash occurred on Dageraadweg, at its intersection with Martin Luther Kingweg, with the driver suffering fatal traumatic injuries that claimed their life before emergency responders could transport them for care.

    A second person riding as a passenger on the moped sustained non-fatal injuries in the impact. Emergency medical teams transferred the injured passenger via ambulance to a local hospital’s emergency department for urgent medical treatment, and no further updates on their condition have been released as of Tuesday evening.

    Following the incident, a on-site physician formally pronounced the moped driver dead at the scene. In line with standard protocol for fatal road incidents, the deceased driver’s remains were taken into custody after consultation with the Public Prosecution Service of the Netherlands. Local police have launched a formal investigation to determine the full circumstances and contributing factors that led to the collision, with no preliminary findings released to the public as of the 21 August 20:40 publication deadline.

  • ‘Grandfathers’ enlisted to steer young men

    ‘Grandfathers’ enlisted to steer young men

    In a push to reverse rising rates of delinquency and violent behavior among young males across the island nation, Barbados is preparing to launch a groundbreaking intergenerational mentorship initiative in the coming weeks: the Grandfather Programme. The project, announced Friday by Minister of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs Adrian Forde during a media briefing at the Warrens Office Complex, pairs experienced senior men with at-risk young males in local communities, filling a critical gap in positive guidance and role modeling for the country’s youth.

    Forde emphasized that the targeted focus on young men stems from widespread, visible challenges the population is currently facing, issues that play out regularly in the country’s court systems and community spaces. Spearheaded by the Division of Elder Affairs, the core mission of the programme is to leverage the decades of lived wisdom and practical knowledge held by older generations, equipping impressionable young men with the foundational values and coping skills they need to navigate life’s obstacles.

    “This initiative is designed to build the intergenerational connections that our communities desperately need right now,” Forde explained, noting that widespread social shifts have left many young people without consistent, positive male guidance. Unlike centralized mentorship schemes that require participants to travel outside their neighborhoods, the Grandfather Programme is structured around local community roots. Volunteers will work directly with young people in their own residential areas, creating comfort and trust through familiar surroundings. For example, a senior man living in the parish of St Andrew will have the flexibility to mentor local youth within that same community, a structure organizers say will help foster long-term, meaningful relationships.

    Forde expressed strong optimism about the programme’s potential to drive durable, positive change if it receives broad buy-in from communities across Barbados. “When fully realized, this project will deliver the intergenerational shift our society needs to support our young people,” he said. To date, a number of senior volunteers have already stepped forward to participate through existing men’s organizations across the island. Even with this early momentum, organizers are still actively recruiting additional volunteers who feel they have the experience and commitment to make a lasting difference in the lives of local youth. The appeal is open to all eligible senior men across Barbados, with organizers emphasizing that even small contributions of time and guidance can strengthen communities and curb cycles of violence and delinquency.

  • CAPE Success, CSEC gains highlight local CXC results

    CAPE Success, CSEC gains highlight local CXC results

    Barbados has delivered strong academic results in the 2026 round of regional Caribbean examinations, posting a near-94% overall pass rate for the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) while recording consistent improvement in key core subjects for secondary-level assessments. The outcomes were officially announced by Chief Education Officer Dr. Ramona Archer-Bradshaw during a ceremony at the Ministry of Education Transformation, where the country’s top Scholarship and Exhibition award winners were also honored.

    Breaking down the 2026 CAPE data, Dr. Archer-Bradshaw noted that candidate registrations grew slightly year-over-year, rising from 4,999 in 2025 to 5,196 this year. Of that cohort, 5,022 candidates completed their scheduled subject sittings, with 4,710 earning passing marks to bring the national overall pass rate to 93.8%. Female candidates made up 55.4% of test-takers, while males accounted for the remaining 44.6%.

    Performance across the two CAPE units remained uniformly strong: Unit 1 recorded a 93.1% pass rate, while Unit 2 hit 95.1%. Female students posted a 94.3% overall pass rate, edging out their male peers who logged a 93.2% pass rate. Seventeen Unit 1 subjects achieved a perfect 100% pass rate, spanning disciplines from French, History, and Literatures in English to technical and innovative fields including Information Technology, Green Engineering, Animation and Gaming Design, and Building and Mechanical Engineering Drawing. For Unit 2, perfect pass rates were recorded for subjects including Art and Design, Food and Nutrition, Geography, Sociology, and Spanish. An additional 23 subjects across both units posted pass rates between 90% and 99%.

    Dr. Archer-Bradshaw emphasized that the achievements of this year’s scholarship and exhibition recipients carry extra weight against the backdrop of the nation’s strong overall CAPE performance. She congratulated all awardees, noting that their success was the product of consistent, often unseen effort: “Your accomplishments did not happen by chance. Behind every grade one, every exceptional GPA, and every scholarship qualification lies a story that very few people see. It is a story of very early mornings and very late nights, of balancing internal assessments with examinations, of choosing commitment over convenience… Today your names are being called because your hard work spoke louder than your obstacles.” She also extended recognition to students who did not earn top honors but pushed through challenges to deliver their best possible performance, saying the education community is equally proud of their perseverance.

    Alongside the CAPE outcomes, Dr. Archer-Bradshaw shared results for the 2026 Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC), the region’s secondary-level graduation assessment. A total of 22,967 candidates registered for the exams across 42 test centers, including 21 public secondary schools and 20 private institutions, with 21,047 completing their assessments. The national pass rate for grades one to three stood at 69.9%, just slightly below the regional average of 72.18%. For CSEC, male students recorded a 70.9% pass rate, a narrow lead over the 69.2% pass rate for female candidates.

    Notably, Barbadian students outperformed regional averages in all core CSEC subjects, building on three consecutive years of progress. The national CSEC Mathematics pass rate rose to 47% this year, five full percentage points above the regional benchmark of 42.15%. Dr. Archer-Bradshaw highlighted that Barbados has now held a regional lead in mathematics pass rates for three straight years of consistent growth. CSEC English A posted an 82% pass rate, exceeding the regional average of 80% and marking a clear improvement from 2025’s lower result, while English B hit a 60% pass rate, a 1.2% increase year-over-year.

    Several public secondary schools delivered dramatic turnarounds in core subject pass rates, earning official praise from the Chief Education Officer. St. George Secondary School recorded an extraordinary 61.8% jump in its mathematics pass rate compared to 2025, while other schools posting double-digit mathematics gains included Coleridge and Parris School (up 23.6%), Parkinson Memorial Secondary School (up 22.8%), The Alexandra School (up 13.1%), and Christ Church Foundation School (up 10.7%). In English, Darryl Jordan Secondary School stood out with a 48.7% increase in its pass rate, a result Dr. Archer-Bradshaw called truly outstanding.

    The 2026 exam cycle also marked a historic milestone for regional assessment, with the launch of the pilot for the Caribbean Examinations Council’s new Caribbean Targeted Examination Certificate, a modular approach to CSEC certification. The pilot launched with Module One for CSEC mathematics, enrolling 589 students from six Barbadian secondary schools. Of that group, 493 completed the assessment, and 358 earned passing marks for an overall 72.6% pass rate. Female candidates posted a 76.6% pass rate in the pilot, compared to 68% for male candidates. Dr. Archer-Bradshaw added that education officials are optimistic the next phase of the pilot will deliver even stronger outcomes.

    Closing the announcement, Dr. Archer-Bradshaw credited collective effort across Barbados’ education ecosystem for the year’s strong results, emphasizing that no student succeeds alone. She thanked teachers for their countless hours of lesson preparation, assignment grading, practical training, and encouragement that helps students pursue excellence. She also recognized principals and school leaders for building high-expectation learning environments rooted in strong leadership and positive school culture. Gratitude was also extended to parents and guardians for their sacrifices, encouragement, and unwavering support, as well as to Ministry of Education Transformation staff for their ongoing work to reform and strengthen the national education system, so every student can reach their full potential. Echoing a core theme of the event, Dr. Archer-Bradshaw reaffirmed that education remains one of the most valuable investments any nation can make in its future.