For decades, poor pass rates in CSEC mathematics have been a persistent barrier to tertiary education and career advancement for thousands of Jamaican secondary school students. Now, a youth-led education initiative called Your Actuary Tutor JA (YATJA) is rolling out a multi-pronged, confidence-centered intervention to reverse this trend and help more students cross the finishing line on exam day.
Founded by Sean Gillings, a former Ardenne High School student, the program emerged directly from Gillings’ frustration with the status quo of mathematics performance across the island. “Mathematics is a non-negotiable prerequisite for nearly every professional career path in Jamaica, but it remains one of the most consistently failed subjects in national CSEC exams,” Gillings explained. When he reviewed national pass rate statistics, he said he knew action beyond the traditional classroom was necessary to move the needle on outcomes.
Recent national data offers a glimmer of hope: 2025 CSEC mathematics results show a marked improvement, with 60% of test-takers earning a passing grade of 1-3. That figure represents a substantial jump from 2024’s 39% pass rate and 2023’s 43% pass rate, but education stakeholders and YATJA leadership agree that consistent, long-term improvement remains an uphill battle. To address this gap, YATJA has built a hybrid model that combines in-school engagement with an innovative digital learning platform, designed to tackle both knowledge gaps and the math anxiety that holds many students back.
In recent weeks, the YATJA team has visited secondary schools across Kingston, including Mona High School and Excelsior High School, to lead interactive working sessions with students. These sessions do not just stop at reviewing formulas or exam content: organizers prioritize breaking down complex concepts into accessible chunks, sharing targeted exam-taking strategies tailored to CXC requirements, and addressing the specific topics that trigger the most test anxiety for students.
Lori-Anne McLoud, head of the mathematics department at Mona High School, praised the initiative’s student-centered approach after YATJA’s recent visit to her campus. “It was a pleasure hosting YATJA. The session was engaging, insightful, and well-received by our students,” McLoud said, noting that external support systems that focus on building student capability play a critical role in reducing intimidation ahead of high-stakes exams.
Gillings is backed by a dedicated team of young academics, including University of the West Indies students Arielle Johnson and Mikhai Sillpatt, who bring both subject expertise and relatable, peer-to-peer connection that resonates with the secondary school students YATJA serves. But the initiative’s impact extends far beyond in-person school visits, anchored by a progressive web-based learning platform that structures CSEC past paper practice to build mastery incrementally.
Unlike many open-access study resources that offer full answer sets alongside past questions, YATJA made a deliberate, unconventional choice to exclude direct solutions from its platform. “The platform is built to progress upward—students master foundational competency levels before moving on to more complex material. If those base skills are not solid, sustained progress becomes nearly impossible, which is what we’re trying to fix,” Gillings explained. “We chose not to include immediate answers because when students see solutions too quickly, they stop putting in the critical work that builds long-term understanding. Real learning, and real critical thinking, happens when students work through the struggle to figure out a problem on their own.”
Instead of providing direct answers, the platform evaluates student performance, maps individual strengths and gaps, and encourages independent problem-solving. Students who get stuck still have access to one-on-one guidance from the YATJA team when they need extra support, balancing independent practice with targeted help.
To support students ahead of the upcoming 2026 exam cycle, YATJA is currently running a limited-time promotion that gives students full access to its structured past paper practice platform through April 15. Beyond the digital platform, the initiative also runs intensive, results-focused exam preparation bootcamps that have already demonstrated strong outcomes: over the past two and a half years, YATJA bootcamp participants have maintained an 80% CSEC mathematics pass rate, far outpacing the national average even after 2025’s improvements.
While registration for the 2025 bootcamp cycle is now closed, students and parents are encouraged to follow YATJA’s official channels for updates on future enrollment opening dates. At its core, the initiative is built around a simple but transformative message: mathematics is not an innate talent reserved for a small subset of students, and it is not something to be feared. With structured, targeted support that builds both skill and confidence, every student has the ability to face, understand, and ultimately conquer the subject that has blocked so many career paths.
