Saint Lucia is an island country in the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean Sea on the boundary with the Atlantic Ocean. The island was previously called Iyonola, the name given to the island by the native Arawaks, and later Hewanorra, the name given by the native Caribs, two separate Amerindian peoples. Part of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent, northwest of Barbados and south of Martinique. It covers a land area of 617 km2 and reported a population of 165,595 in the 2010 census. Soufrière was colonized by the French and was the original capital of the island. Its capital is Castries.
Saint Lucia was inhabited by the Arawak and Kalinago Caribs before European contact in the early 16th century. It was colonized by the British and French in the 17th century and was the subject of several possession changes until 1814, when it was ceded to the British by France for the final time. In 1958, St. Lucia joined the short-lived semi-autonomous West Indies Federation. Saint Lucia was an associated state of the United Kingdom from 1967 to 1979 and then gained full independence on February 22, 1979.
Politics of Saint Lucia takes place in the framework of an independent parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy, with Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state, represented by a Governor General, who acts on the advice of the prime minister and the cabinet. The prime minister is the leader of the majority party of the house, and the cabinet conducts affairs of state. The Governor General exercises basically ceremonial functions, but residual powers, under the constitution, can be used at the governor general's discretion. The actual power in St. Lucia lies with the prime minister and the cabinet, usually representing the majority party in parliament.
A comprehensive school is a public school for elementary aged or secondary aged children that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to the selective school system where admission is restricted on the basis of selection criteria. The term is commonly used in relation to England and Wales, where comprehensive schools were introduced as state schools on an experimental basis in the 1940s and became more widespread from 1965. With the Blair educational reforms from 2003, they may be part of a local education authority or be a self governing academy or part of a multi-academy trust.
The Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) is an examination board in the Caribbean. It was established in 1972 under agreement by the participating governments in the Caribbean Community to conduct such examinations as it may think appropriate and award certificates and diplomas on the results of any such examinations so conducted. The Council is empowered to regulate the conduct of any such examinations and prescribe the qualification requirements of candidates and the fees payable by them. It is now an examining body that provides educational certifications in 16 English speaking Commonwealth Caribbean Countries and Territories and has replaced the General Certificate of Education (GCE) examinations used by England and some other members of the Commonwealth. The CXC is an institution of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM); it was recognised as an Associate Institution of the Community in the 1973 treaty that created the Caribbean Community. Members of the Council are drawn from the 16 territories and the region's two universities, the University of Guyana and the University of the West Indies.
Presentation College San Fernando is a selective, government-assisted Roman Catholic Boys’ Secondary School located in San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago. It claims to be the first Catholic secondary school in South Trinidad, having been established circa 1930 in the basement of San Fernando Presbytery. It relocated to the Colony Buildings at La Pique in 1931. Originally, the College was named Saint Benedict's College. However, the name was changed in 1948 when management of the school was assumed by the Presentation Brothers.
The University of Belize (UB) is an English-speaking multi-locational institute for higher education, and the national university of Belize. The institution offers certificates, diplomas, associate degrees, bachelor's degrees, and a graduate degree. The UB Central Campus is in Belmopan City.
Vance Winkworth Amory is the former Premier of Nevis. He had previously held the position from 2 June 1992 to 11 July 2006. He founded and led the Concerned Citizens' Movement (CCM), now chaired by Stedmond Tross. He was a West Indies cricketer who played for the Combined Islands and the Leeward Islands. Prime Minister Amory also served as the Minister of Sports in the Nevis Island Administration. The main airport in Nevis, The Vance W. Amory International Airport, bears his name.
Education in Guyana is provided largely by the government of Guyana, through the Ministry of Education and its arms in the ten different regions of the country. Guyana's education system is a legacy from its time as British Guiana, and is similar to that of the other anglophone member states of the Caribbean Community, which are affiliated to the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC). School curricula, funding, standards and other policies are set by the central government and implemented through the Ministry of Education and related agencies. The Education System is divided into eleven districts, ten of which correspond to the national administrative and geographical regions of the country, while the capital, Georgetown, is treated as a separate education district. With 8.3% of its GDP spent on education, Guyana sits with Cuba, Iceland, Denmark and Botswana as among the few countries with top spending on education.
Moses Jn. Baptiste is a St. Lucian politician. He is the Parliamentary Representative for Vieux Fort North.
St. Mary High School is a secondary school located in the Highgate area of St Mary, Jamaica.
The George Odlum Stadium is a 9,000 capacity football stadium in Vieux Fort, St Lucia.
Morne Fortune is a hill and residential area located south of Castries, Saint Lucia, in the West Indies.
Education in Trinidad and Tobago is free and compulsory between ages 5 and 16. Trinidad and Tobago is considered one of the most educated countries in the World with a literacy rate exceeding 98%. This exceptionally high literacy rate can be attributed, in part, to free tuition from Kindergarten (Pre-School) to University.
Spartan Health Sciences University is a private, for-profit medical school located in Vieux Fort, St. Lucia, in the Caribbean. Spartan confers upon its graduates the Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree. Spartan graduates can practice medicine in 46 US states.
Antigua State College is a public tertiary institution in Antigua and Barbuda, with 1,000 students enrolled in several programs. The college consists of several departments such as the Advanced Level, Department of business, engineering, department of undergraduate studies, teacher education (offsite) and school of pharmacy (off-site).
St. Vincent Grammar School is a secondary school located in Richmond Hill, Kingstown, on the island of Saint Vincent in the Caribbean. Established in 1908, it is the oldest institution offering secondary level education in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and is a single-sex school. Entrance to the school is by an academic selection test called the Common Entrance Examination, acceptance granted traditionally to those male students who rank in the top 150 places of his gender in the examination.
The University of the West Indies Open Campus (UWIOC) is a public and distance only, research university headquartered Cave Hill, Barbados. It is one of 5 general autonomous units of the University of the West Indies system. Its main campus is located inside the University of the West Indies at Cave Hill, but remains a distinct and separate institution.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Saint Lucia is part of the ongoing global viral pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which was confirmed to have reached Saint Lucia on 13 March 2020. As of 17 May 2021, there are a total of 4,858 confirmed cases, of which 4,543 have recovered and 76 deaths have occurred.
