The ManicaPost
Ray Bande Senior Reporter—
WITH a total of 15 pupils attaining four units in the Zimbabwe Schools Examination Council Grade Seven exams in 2013, Baring Primary recorded a 99,3 percent quantitative pass-rate in 2013, before attaining a 100 pass-rate the following year when a total of 19, four more pupils attained four units.
| In 2015, Baring Primary attained a quantitative pass-rate of 99.4 percent with 26 pupils, seven more from the previous year that sat for the Grade Seven exams getting four units. |
Last year, 36 pupils, 10 more than the previous year managed to get four units when Baring Primary School attained a 99.6 pass rate.
This is ample testimony of the steady and consistent improvement in academic performance with each passing year being witnessed at one of Mutare’s finest primary schools.
Baring Primary School headmaster, Mr Edward Mudede, attributes this improvement to nothing more than the dedication of staff at the school, sound management skills by the administration as well as support from parents.
“The school is becoming more and more popular with each passing year. This explains why we are getting people from as far as Dangamvura, Hobhouse and Chikanga seeking to get their children enrolled here.
“The dedication to duty by the teachers is fantastic. They are the ones who have made this possible. It is also true that the administration, the Teacher-in-Charge, Deputy Headmaster and I, have also employed apt managerial skills to ensure effective execution of duties by staff members.
“In short, there is teamwork and that has helped us achieve better results. It is also imperative that we note the support that we have been receiving from parents. They have done exceptionally well in supporting all initiatives meant to improve the quality of education at the school,” said the Baring Primary School head.
Even the school deputy headmaster, Mrs Kesta Deda, could not hide her joy over consistent improvement of academic results at the school.
“It is encouraging to note that we have been improving with each passing year. Ever since I came here, we have been steadily improving in our results. This is something that I value and cherish a lot,” said Mrs Deda.
Baring Primary School has not lagged behind in the effective use and adaptation of Information Communication Technology.
“We are currently finalising the construction of a computer lab to augment the one we had. We fully appreciate the need to expose our children To ICTs at an early age, hence this construction of the new computer lab,” added Mr Mudede.
Notably, the school is finalising the construction of a double storey classroom block.
“I think we are the first Government school in the district to construct a double storey classroom block after independence. This is an achievement that we cherish especially after we became the first school again to acquire a 60-seater state-of-the-art bus,” said Mr Mudede.
The school also has a tale to tell about is achievements in sport.
“However, it is not only in the academic front that Baring Primary has done exceptionally well, as the school has competed favourably in various sporting disciplines.
“As a school, we appreciate the fact that not all children are academically talented and that is why we have a robust sport framework that makes it possible for every pupil to partake in sport,” said Mr Mudede.
Baring Primary School sports director, Mr James Makaya, chronicled some of the achievements the school made in sport the previous year.
“Our rugby team is the current HPSA champions and we actually have two kids who were part of that team who were selected to play for the age group’s national team.
We also have one child who was awarded a scholarship at Hillcrest owing to exceptional talent in rugby. Two children were also awarded scholarships at Hillcrest for their exceptional abilities in cricket. In fact, we are the district HPSA cricket champions.
“Our choral group is the second best in the nation as well as reigning provincial champions. We were also the best in the district in recent quiz competitions.
In tennis, we have Takura Happy who has represented Zimbabwe in numerous tournaments. We attach due importance to sport in general and that is why we have a child partaking in at least two sporting genres. We also have other sporting disciplines such as football, netball, athletics and volleyball among others,” said Mr Makaya.
The infrastructural development initiatives at the school has been second to none and the oldest teacher at the school, Mrs Jessie Ngwarwi, recalls the yesteryears when only two classroom blocks were at the school back in 1986 when she joined the school.
“I came here in 1986 and there were only two classroom blocks and today we have 10 of them.
The hall was not there. We only had three infant classrooms and now there are 15 of them, with ECD having seven classes and eight for Grades One and Two.
“This clearly shows how the school has developed over the years to become what it is today. We actually now have about 690 pupils in the infant department,” she said.
In line with the current Government thrust of Zim-Asset, which promotes the use of available resources to better livelihoods, Baring Primary School is highly active in agricultural production.
“We have a garden where we are growing beans, onions and carrots. When we harvest the crops we sell them and reinvest in the field in terms of inputs and equipment. We also have a maize field,” said Mr Zachariah Chingarande, the teacher-in-charge of the school’s agricultural division.
Baring Primary School was established in 1917 and it was located at Provincial Medical Director’s Office premises before it moved to where the District Administrator’s Office is currently located.
It later moved to Florida where the school is currently located.
It was mainly meant for the coloured community especially during the colonial era that attached too much importance to class and racial discrimination, but after independence in 1980 it catered for people of different races.
Before independence, it was a one stream school, but today, Baring Primary School, just like any others, is now a five stream school, with classes from A to E in each grade.
