Baie Ste Anne primary gets ‘Hall of Fame’ |05 August 2019

A souvenir photograph to mark the occasion

Pupils and teachers of Baie Ste Anne primary school, as well as parents, welcomed the ‘Hall of Fame’ project in their school earlier last week.

The project, which is an initiative of Seychellois-born Georgina Dhillon from the UK, has been introduced in various primary schools around the country and aims to reward students for their effort and hard work in school, with the hope that they may serve as role models to others.

It was Mrs Dhillon herself and head teacher of the school, Monique Lesperance, who had the honour of inaugurating the project and the first group of pupils to grace the Hall of Fame are the four best academic performers in the P6 2018 national exams. Karym Port Louis, Anna Lesperance, Emiliano Lesperance and Naelle Savy had produced remarkable exam results with Karym Port Louis as the best performer.

On behalf of the recipients, Karym thanked their teachers for their hard work and patience.

“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt by heart. Thank you is one of them. My words are not enough to express our gratitude to you all for always standing by us, guiding us and motivating us. We feel very proud today.”

He also thanked Mrs Dhillon for the initiative as well as their parents and the whole school for the valuable contribution towards their success.

On her part, Mrs Dhillon thanked the parents for playing an important role in their children’s education.

“Thank you parents for giving your children this opportunity to receive such an amazing award which everybody supports. This project is a joint one; it is like a chain between the teachers, students, parents, the school management with the support of the Ministry of Education. Together you all worked so hard and we are all very happy in the end with our students’ great achievement. This is only the beginning and we hope the recipients will eventually receive bigger awards and set an example for others in the school and the rest of the country,” Mrs Dhillon said.

Mrs Dhillon is the chief executive of the UK based Rila Group, which is one of the largest and fastest growing providers of a range of products and services in healthcare, publishing, media and hospitality, venturing in various international projects as well.

In her address, head teacher Lesperance expressed the school’s gratitude for such a project that she described as a very good initiative which shall serve as a source of motivation for all students.

“Students will aspire to one day make it to the ‘Hall of Fame’ and this will also encourage parents to motivate their children and take an even greater interest in their studies.”

“Our vision is to create an enabling teaching and learning environment where both staff and pupils will develop to their full potential. Our school believes strongly in engaging parents, the community and other stakeholders in fostering a strong partnership so as to enhance the quality of education. What is happening today is testimony of this shared responsibility,” Miss Lesperance shared.

She also called on the P6 students of 2019 to aim for even better results.

“Let there be another celebration next year. Today the recipients must feel like celebrities and this is achievable by all students. Let your performance be based on dedication, hard work and the desire to excel,” she said.

The ceremony was also attended by Cyril Pillay, director general for primary schools, the schools’ council and several invited guests.

Text: Nadia Bedier

Photos: Romano Laurence