The St. Michael School is a

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...

. It stands on Martindales Road in the parish of

Saint Michael, Barbados The parish of St. Michael is one of eleven parishes of Barbados. It has a land area of and is found at the southwest portion of the island. Saint Michael has survived by name as one of the original six parishes created in 1629 by Governor Sir Will ...

. The school has over 800 pupils. Some of the school's notable alumni include the late Dame Nita Barrow, who was the first female (Right Excellent Errol Barrow's sister) governor general of Barbados, and parliamentarian

Elizabeth Thompson Elizabeth Southerden Thompson (3 November 1846 – 2 October 1933), later known as Lady Butler, was a British painter who specialised in painting scenes from British military campaigns and battles, including the Crimean War and the Napoleonic ...

as well as Jason Holder Barbados and West Indian cricketer. The school's principal is Mrs. Tanya Harding and the deputy is Mrs Wood. The school's motto is "Nisi Auxilio Dei Nihil,"

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

for "Nothing Without Help From God". The St

History and achievements

The school was founded by the St. Michael's Vestry and officially opened on 7 May 1928. It was originally a girls' school. In 1979 the first class of boys were admitted to the school In 2007, a two-year renovation programme came to an end. In 2007, a student won a gold medal at the CARIFTA Games. In 2008, the school became the only one on the island to place three students in one sitting to two campuses of the

United World Colleges United World Colleges (UWC) is an international network of schools and educational programmes with the shared aim of "making education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future." The organization was founde ...

(the UWC Movement). Two students went to the United World College Costa Rica ( Santa Ana,

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

) and one to the United World College-USA ( Montezuma, USA). It was the largest placement by a single secondary school in Barbados. However, in 2009, the school did not place any of its students into the UWC Movement. The school has a sixth form.

School structure

The St. Michael School is divided into four competitive houses, named after queens:

Boadicea Boudica or Boudicca (, known in Latin chronicles as Boadicea or Boudicea, and in Welsh as ()), was a queen of the ancient British Iceni tribe, who led a failed uprising against the conquering forces of the Roman Empire in AD 60 or 61. She ...

(blue), Victoria (red), Anne (yellow) and Elizabeth (purple).

Discipline

The school has a prefect system, under which students help with disciplinary and school matters, run by a head boy and head girl with their deputies, and five senior prefects. It is considered a well organized school and run by Tanya Harding, the head of the school. In the past years it has accomplished much, notably the installment of bleachers and water systems. It has also led the charge against unhealthy habits and has been commended for its revolutionary initiative.

Notable alumni

* Dame Nita Barrow - former governor general * Jason Holder * Grace Hackett, Ph.D. - Mezzo Soprano *

Ezra Moseley Ezra Alphonsa Moseley (5 January 1958 – 6 February 2021) was a Barbadian cricketer who played in two Test matches and nine One Day Internationals for the West Indies cricket team in 1990 and 1991. He was the only member of the 1982 rebel tour ...

, cricketer

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Michael School Schools in Barbados Educational institutions established in 1928 1928 establishments in the British Empire