St. Vincent and the Grenadines: Visually impaired student admitted to Girls’ High School

St. Vincent and the Grenadines: 12-year-old Faith Grant has made history in academic achievement by becoming the first blind student to be accepted to the Girls’ High School after an outstanding performance in the CPEA exams.

Faith, student at the Fair Hall Government has triumphed in the examination by placing 19th among girls and 41st overall. She became the highest-ranking student from her primary school based on the CPEA exams results as well.

The outstanding performance earned her a place at the prestigious Girls’ High School (GHS) that made her what is believed to be the first student to attend the premier secondary institution in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

During the standard CPEA exam, she was assisted by a person who read the questions aloud to her. Her assistant traced the shapes and angles on Faith’s hand to navigate visual components in order to make her understand and answer the questions to solve mathematical problems.

Faith has overcome such hurdles throughout her journey till now, and her perseverance, dedication and her skills in math and science paved the way for her success.

Faith has been recently awarded with several prizes on June 12 at her primary school graduation as the school authority recognized her achievement. Faith has been described as a multilingual, effervescent, and voracious consumer of literature.

Faith’s achievement is not just her achievement, it’s the result of the visionary approach of the Fair Hall Government School and the leadership of Principal Miss Kid Roberts, the school’s special mission of mainstreaming children with physical, developmental, and learning challenges.

The school’s teaching staff comprises both specially trained special education professionals and passionate educators who creatively adapted their teaching methods, who have been instrumental in nurturing Faith and her peers.

Faith will be starting her new journey as she prepares to enter GHS, and for that special accommodation will be required to support her. She is currently learning Braille, but the specialized tools required for her secondary education are very costly.

A public appeal has been made to the corporate community and corporate citizens in St. Vincent and the Grenadines to reach out to Faith’s mother and provide financial support for Faith’s further education and resources crucial for it.

Faith’s achievement serves as a powerful reminder that skills, talent, dedication and a supportive community can overcome any hurdle that comes your way, and it doesn’t matter even if it is a physical disability.

It truly took a “village” of dedicated parents, teachers, and school administrators to bring her to this point through her education. The authorities believe that she will continue to overcome challenges and reach even greater heights in the future.