Exams at the schools in Brikama and New Jeshwang

At the Butterfly Friends schools, it was exam time again in December. In The Gambia, the West African Examination Council (WAEC) is responsible for all exams in West Africa. Students therefore take a test that is not prepared by the school but is the same for the entire country—a “National Achievement Test.” Students begin taking exams as early as third grade and continue through all grade levels in elementary school, middle school, and high school.

The results are now in, and as usual, they are very good. On the far left, you can see a photo of the top student in French at the school in Brikama receiving a gift from her French teacher, Kemo Gassama, and the next photo shows the top student in math being presented with a gift by her math teacher.

The photo on the right shows the top student at the school in New Jeshwang with Principal Bojang (left) and her teacher. She scored 285 out of a possible 300 on the NAT test.

The next four photos (below) are also from Brikama. They show the top fifth-grade students receiving a small token of appreciation from their teacher in the form of a notebook and writing supplies.

Finally, here are some photos of students preparing for the national exams. These students receive extra instruction on Saturdays because the curriculum is so extensive that they cannot cover all the material during regular class time. The fact that we at Butterfly Friends can provide this type of extra instruction, combined with the fact that we have well-qualified teachers with either a university or college degree (or both), yields outstanding results — well-educated students who are truly dedicated and motivated, no matter what grade they’re in.