BIG PICTURE EDUCATION TRUST, BARBADOS
Why.
Across Barbados and the wider Caribbean, too many young people are leaving school without the qualifications needed to access higher education, training opportunities, or meaningful employment. This is not a reflection of their potential, but of a system that does not always accommodate the different ways students learn, grow, and succeed.
Recent CXC results highlight the scale of this challenge. Only 4.9% of Caribbean students achieved passes in five or more CSEC subjects, including Mathematics and English, while just 36% passed Mathematics in 2024. According to CXC, approximately 11,500 young people each year fail to meet the standard required to access higher education or employment beyond unskilled work.
These statistics highlight a critical need for alternative pathways to learning and success. The Big Picture Education Trust Barbados was established to help address this challenge by providing scholarships for deserving students to attend Beyond The Box Education (BTBE). Through personalized, student-centred learning, BTBE helps young people discover their strengths, build confidence, and develop the skills needed to thrive in school, work, and life.
Funds raised through this initiative help ensure that financial circumstances do not prevent students from accessing an education designed to unlocktheir full potential.
2024 Regional CSEC Results
Among nearly 200,000 annual CSEC candidates across the Caribbean, only 4.9% achieve passes in five or more subjects, including Mathematics and English.
Source: CXC results reported by Barbados Today (2024).
What.
The Big Picture Trust provides deserving students with scholarships to attend BTBE (Beyond The Box Education).
BTBE provides a student-centered, interest-based approach to learning that truly engages all students. It’s a school that inspires creativity and individuality. The trust is dedicated to working with BTBE to ensure that students who are not being served in the current education system are given access to the type of education that can ensure their future success.
Funds raised will make it possible for more young people to be given the same opportunities as select privileged students.
Who?
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Results published by CXC (Caribbean Examination Council) in 2018 show that only 24% of students registered to sit the mathematics exam gained a passing grade and 47% of those who sat the English Language exam passed.
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According to the UNICEF study, “All In School”, two thirds of the Eastern Caribbean population in 2017 left school without the requisite minimum qualifications that would allow them access to tertiary education or to meet basic employment requirements.
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Of students who took the BSSEE (Barbados Secondary School Entrance Exam) in 2009, 24% of them did not take CSEC exams in 2015. What happened to these students? Almost ¼ of the school leaving population in that year “disappeared”.
The Bigger Picture...
These statistics clearly indicate that the current education system is not supporting the future generations that the economy is to rely on. Firstly, the young people of the country are being failed but on a much deeper level the viability of the country’s economy is being put at great risk.
Without an educated and employable workforce Barbados does not stand to survive, much less prosper. One can only stand to reason that these statistics are in worse condition following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Evidence of success...
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Over the past 5 years, BTBE has expanded and is now a thriving school with over 70 students enrolled. Big Picture aims to provide scholarships to select deserving students whose lives we know we can turn around.
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We wish to find students who are talented and smart in a variety of ways but who are not being challenged or succeeding in the schools they are in, and offer them the opportunity to excel at BTBE and beyond.
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A follow-up of BTBE's eight graduates to date:
At the time when all of these students came to BTBE they were failing out of their current schools. We would argue that their schools were failing them.
Three of those graduates were fortunate recipients of scholarships thanks to companies such as Bank of Montreal, London Life, RBC Capital Markets, Chefette Restaurants Ltd.
What are you investing in?
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Providing scholarship funding to potential BTBE students means that you will be directly changing a young person's future. You will be ensuring that they receive the best opportunities possible to succeed and thrive in a world that they feel responsible for.
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All scholarship students will be tracked for progress, and reports will be readily available for all donors.
Goal
The Big Picture Education Trust, Barbados would like to be able to offer a total of 10 student scholarships to attend BTBE in the upcoming school year. That is 10 lives changed forever.
Please get in touch to find out how you can contribute to changing a young person's life.
