Forget the quiz competitions and sporting championships, new data on the nationwide performance of fifth graders in their final exams show rural schools outperforming most of their urban counterparts.

According to the data, which rank 52 traditional high schools based on their performance in the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) and the percentages sent up to sit English and Mathematics, only four Kingston schools figured among the top 10 schools in the island.

The four Kingston schools were: Immaculate Conception High, which ranked number one in overall performance; Campion College, second; Wolmer’s High School for Girls, third; and St Andrew High, which was ranked fifth.

The rural schools in the top 10 were: Bishop Gibson High in Manchester, fourth; Hampton School in St Elizabeth, sixth; Munro College in St Elizabeth came seventh; Mt Alvernia High in St James, eighth; York Castle High in St Ann, ninth; and Glenmuir High in Clarendon, 10th.

The report was compiled last month by Education Task Force member and head of the Association of Quietly Excellent Scholars and Thinkers (A-QUEST), Dr Dennis Minott, and assistant A-QUEST tutor, Keisha Martin. The analysis was based on work done by the National Council of Education (NCE), publishers of an annual CXC publication on high school students’ performance, from which much of the material was culled.

“It is an excellent bit of work; the methodology is sound,” said NCE executive director, Ruth Morris of the A-QUEST analysis.

“Traditionally we have held the perception that certain schools are the top-performing schools and they have held that name for years,” she said. However, the data has proven public perception wrong in several instances.

“It was quite surprising to see that some rural schools that you hardly ever hear about are doing such excellent work,” Morris admitted.

In 1994, a ‘Pockets of Excellence’ study was compiled by Dr Minott, Dr Cynthia Lewis and Stefan Minott, examining the performance of a number of schools over a 10-year period, and making a comparison based on the quality intake and the value added to each student on a subject basis. In that study, Meadowbrook High School took the top place.

Unlike the ‘Pockets of Excellence’ study, the ‘A-QUEST Fifth Form Performance’ (AFFP) analysis does not measure the value added, but is considered by the NCE as a “rational” indicator of school output, allowing for comparisons to be made by school, subject, department, parish and region.

According to the AFFP analysis, fourth and sixth to 10th places went to all non-Kingston schools – a surprising revelation which contradicts a general perception that all the best schools in the island are located in the Jamaican capital.

The 10 lowest-performing schools are identified as Rusea’s High, Clarendon College, Tivoli Gardens High, Oberlin High, Happy Grove High, Priory High, Garvey Maceo High, St George’s College, Charlie Smith High and Trench Town High.

Among the leading schools, Ardenne High, which has traditionally been a top choice, next to Campion, for primary school students sitting the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT), fell behind in its overall performance averages, at 13th place. Kingston College was 14th, Alpha Convent of Mercy was 15th, and Wolmer’s High School for Boys came in at 16th place. Interestingly, eight of the top 10 schools were single-sex schools.