The Barbados Community College (BCC) celebrates a successful year of its Pre-Science Program and the bright futures ahead of its graduates.

Developed and implemented in 2024, the program was designed to provide potential STEM students with qualifications they may not otherwise have but need to enrol in a STEM program and comes on the heels of declining CSEC pass rates in math and science.

Jesse Evelyn, a recent graduate of the program and current Environmental Science and Geography student claimed that he found the program invaluable to his current studies and encouraged others to enrol.

“It allowed me to get a feel for college life and gave me a sense of maturity separate from secondary school.”

Another graduate, Kaitlan Corbin, also praised the program, acknowledging the skills it taught her and how she was already applying them in her nursing program. In addition to the core courses, electives like Speech and Personal Development and Computer Applications have given her the soft skills she needed to complete her nursing degree and better interact with patients.

“It’s only my first semester so I think I’m going to learn more about how prescience has impacted me, but so far it has laid a foundation for my studies.”

BCC Natural Science Senior Tutor Dr. Arlyn Linton-Jones explained the importance of such a course, stressing the need for this kind of foundational course.

“By reinforcing academic foundations, practical skills, and critical thinking, it has improved students’ readiness for tertiary study and established a clear pathway into science-based degrees and careers.”

She highlighted the success of the program thus far, congratulating the most recent cohort of students, more than half of which are now pursuing a degree in a science major.

Dr. Linton-Jones added that the program is seeing increased enrolment and looks forward to another successful school year.