Buff Bay High School was established in 1969 and caters mostly to students from lower GSAT/GNAT Scores, offering enriched classes, STEM integration, and small-group support to boost academic performance.
The school earned recognition for constructing four additional classrooms in June 2025, reflecting ongoing investment in infrastructure. The school implemented strategies like block-teaching, extra Saturday sessions, and math camps—contributing to improved CSEC English pass rates rising from 38% (2013) to 57% (2016). Athletics is also strong, with multiple Eastern Championship titles, reinforcing balanced development in academics and sports
the school implemented strategies like block-teaching, extra Saturday sessions, and math camps—contributing to improved CSEC English pass rates rising from 38% (2013) to 57% (2016). Athletics is also strong, with multiple Eastern Championship titles, reinforcing balanced development in academics and sports.
The school is attempting to replicate this sporting success in teaching and learning. The west Portland-based institution is near the bottom of the National Education Inspectorate’s (NEI) ranking for school effectiveness. Following its inspection of the school in November 2012, the NEI rated the institution’s overall effectiveness as unsatisfactory. A similar rating was given for all, except one, of several leading indicators.
The Management Team at Buff Bay High have devised a plan, driven by data, to turn around the performance of the school in anticipation of the imminent re-inspection by the NEI. They are a data-driven school. Their goal is to achieve a minimum of five per cent incremental gain on each examination that students sit per year. Every six weeks, students are tested then results are analyzed in relation to the target, and the necessary adjustment are made in delivering the curriculum.
Key performance indicators are used by every teacher to track overall class performance from the beginning to the end of the term to achieve the stated increment of five per cent in class average. Teachers are mandated to enter starting-point scores for each student in their mark books. The student’s performance is then tracked throughout the year. Heads of department and the vice-principal inspect the mark books along with teachers and identify regression in performance by individual students. Appropriate intervention strategies are then implemented accordingly.
Importantly, the target is shared with the parent-teacher association and other stakeholders to get their buy-in, and later, they are invited to attend the awards for excellence ceremony that is held to recognize students’ achievements in the six-week-cycle test.
Smaller Classes boost Teacher-Student Interaction. A key strategy employed by the administrators of the Buff Bay High School in Portland to improve teaching and learning is the reduction of class sizes for the core subjects of English and mathematics in order to provide teachers with greater opportunity to interact with individual students.
Some students may experience learning challenges because the school receives mainly students who scored low in the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) and Grade Nine Achievement Test (GNAT), along with a cohort from the Alternative Secondary Transition Education Programme (ASTEP).
Buff Bay High School has enrichment classes in every grade for the children with learning challenges. They have designed special classes for them using special teachers like it is at the primary level. As soon as students attain a certain level, they are ushered into the regular class. Buff Bay High School has been pretty successful at that.
Buff Bay High School’s mission statement is centered around the motto “Excellence in all we do. this motto encapsulates the school’s goal of achieving high standards in every aspect of its operations.
Problem Solving Approach. At fifth form, students who initially had learning challenges pass exit examinations, with some sitting as many as eight subjects in the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations. Teachers at Buff Bay High also use the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) problem-solving approach to provide instructions, along with an emphasis on critical thinking as required by the new National Standard Curriculum. Teachers also apply differentiated instructional methods to match the learning abilities of each student.
How effective have these strategies been in turning around student performance in the core subjects of English language and mathematics? The pass rate in CSEC English language has been 38 per cent (2013), 44 per cent (2014), 45 per cent (2015), and 57 per cent (2016). The school has also benefited from broader improvements in Jamaican education, such as targeted learning interventions, infrastructure upgrades, and digital tools, which have resulted in better student performance.
Big on Technology – The school is doing well in non-core subjects such as the sciences, a trend that preceded the National Education Inspectorate assessment. Science appears difficult to learn because children are least exposed to it at the primary school level when compared to other subjects. Buff Bay High School use a lot of animation through interactive software. In addition, they have introduced more school-based assessment-type activities in the lower school so that by the time students reach grade nine, they are ready to take on the CSEC curriculum. Students are also performing well in the skill or technology-based subjects, where the curriculum is tailored to fit their needs. It is mandatory that every grade nine student going on to grade 10 study a technical or vocational subject
The school has introduced several measures, including the deployment of roaming security guards, which has resulted in a significant decline in truancy by students and improved safety and security on the compound. Attendance is 80 per cent, with a significant drop on Fridays. The school has five class sizes of Grade Six Achievement Test-placed students – roughly 200 up from the regular intake of 120 students. “Apparently, more students are selecting Buff Bay High as the school of choice.
