Literacy is for Everyone (LIFE) and longtime donors, Walkers, have again partnered with the Ministry of Education Youth, Sports, Agriculture and Lands in sponsoring 781 supplementary English examination textbooks.

With initial sponsorship from Walkers, top up funding was secured in a collaboration with The Ministry of Education, Youth, Sports, Agriculture and Lands (Ministry of Education) and the Department of Education Services (DES) to purchase these resources for all KS4 classrooms at John Gray High School, Clifton Hunter High School and CIFEC in Grand Cayman, and Layman E. Scott Sr. High School on Cayman Brac. As such, students will soon receive copies of the newly designed and updated colour edition CSEC English Matters textbooks to assist in their preparations for the 2021 external examinations.

Also included in the order are texts to support the upcoming cohort of high performing Year 8 students who are enrolled in Accelerated Programmes in government high schools and slated to sit their examinations early in Year 9.

Walkers’ Global Managing Partner, Ingrid Pierce, stated, “We are delighted to partner with LIFE, the Ministry of Education and DES to help supply these core textbooks to students studying for exams at local schools across Cayman. It is in our collective best interests to ensure that the next generation has everything they need to succeed at school.”

Written by English language teaching specialists and reviewed by expert educators from Trinidad & Tobago, Guyana, Grenada and Jamaica, the textbooks correspond to the revised CSEC English syllabus, making them an ideal companion for students studying towards examinations. Accompanying the books, UK publishers, Macmillan, also provided free English Matters 1, 2, and 3 Teacher’s Books in PDF format to give educators unrestricted access to the latest edition teaching resources.

Juliet Austin, Executive Director of LIFE, commented, “We are thrilled to see public and private sectors coming together to support the provision of these high quality literacy resources for Cayman’s high school students. This donation shows a commitment to ensuring long term solutions for Cayman’s schools, through public private partnership, to ensure that no child is left behind and all have equal access to essential curriculum materials.

“We thank Walkers for, once again, answering the call to action, Mark Ray, Acting Deputy Chief of Education, Literacy Specialist,Yosha Alphonse from MEYSAL, and Tammy Banks-DaCosta, Director of Education at DES, for working so diligently and responsively to get this project off the ground for the betterment of Cayman’s students.”

“The Ministry of Education, Youth, Sport, Agriculture and Lands is grateful to LIFE and its sponsor Walkers Global for their generous contribution to our schools. We look forward to your continued partnership and support as we work to educate students,” commented Minister of Education, Juliana O’Connor-Connolly.

The new textbooks are due to arrive in Cayman in the coming months and will be distributed by DES to schools.


About LIFE:
LIFE (Literacy Is For Everyone) is the only organisation committed solely to improving education and literacy in the Cayman Islands. Established in 2012, LIFE Ltd. is a registered not for profit organisation and is Cayman’s literacy charity. Improving literacy will help to reduce poverty, crime and unemployment, as well as increase job skills and enhance the opportunities available to residents of the Cayman Islands.

Contact:
For more information on any of LIFE’s literacy programmes and how to get involved as a donor or volunteer, please contact Juliet Austin at [email protected] or click on our website at www.life.org.ky.