“I Wasn’t Performing Well in my Previous School” – Bridge Schools’ Best Performer Celebrates PLE Success

Pupils from Bridge Schools Uganda have performed well for the fourth year in a row in the just released Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) for 2020.  This is after five pupils from the school attained Division One in the exams were delayed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Primary Leaving Exam (PLE) in Uganda is the main government examination that all students sit at the end of primary school. The results determine the kind of secondary school a child will be admitted to. Bridge pupils sat the exam for the fourth time and their good performance mean that they will be able to join top Ugandan secondary schools and go on to pursue their dreams.

The top performing pupil from Bridge is Batamuriza Judith, a 14-year-old girl from Nansana municipality who has studied at Bridge School Yesu Amala for 6 years. Judith has scored a division 1 with an aggregate of 8 points. She is proud of the support she received from her teachers and attributes her great performance to the best teaching she received.

“I wasn’t performing well in my previous school. But when I joined Bridge, my performance started improving. Thanks to my teachers and parents for making this happen.” Batamuriza said.

She is now confident of joining Luzira Secondary School for her Senior One.

Speaking about her good performance, 13-year-old Kacwiny-rwoth Annette from Maganjo Parish said she is proud of her success and that her parents are really excited!

“I worked really hard and got a lot of help from my teachers in preparing for the exams using the remote learning materials when schools were closed.” She said.

Kacwiny-rwoth studied at Bridge School Jinja Karoli for five years and has scored a division 1 with an aggregate of 11 points. She is now closer to joining her dream secondary school, Africana High School.

Ssenkungu Joseph is 13 years old from Nansana Municipality and attended Bridge School Yesu Amala. He credits his division 1 score of 11 aggregate to hard work and support from excellent teachers. 

“At Bridge, I was taught well and the teachers are the best,” Ssenkungu said.

Like Batamuriza, he is now hoping to join Luzira Secondary School.

12-year-old Nanono Joyce is another super girl from Nansana Municipality who is among the top performers in the country having scored a division 1 with an aggregate of 10 points.

Nanono has been schooling at Bridge for the past 3 years and she is grateful for the support she received from her teachers at Bridge. 

“My teachers helped me a lot when I was preparing for my exams. When schools were closed, the teachers visited the community to help us learn using the remote learning materials.” she says.

She wants to join Luzira Secondary School to pursue her dreams.

Umaru Muwoya Sadala from Bridge School Idudi scored a division 1 with an aggregate of 12 points.

The results show that the length of time a child spends in a Bridge school has a significant impact on their performance. Pupils who have been at Bridge for four or more years emerged among the top performers in the country by achieving marks in the highest 2 divisions.

Commenting on the results, Elizabeth Kankya, the Director of Schools for Bridge Schools Uganda, said, “Knowing that we are supporting children to excel in our country inspires those working at Bridge each and every day. Now, with four years of successful results we are confident that what we are doing in Uganda is working, and this motivates us to worker harder and impact more children. A good education will give children the opportunity to change their future and hopefully the future of the community. Every child deserves that.”

Ms Kankya also attributed the success to the ongoing support from the Government of Uganda, saying, “We are grateful to the Ministry of Education and Sports for the support and encouragement that they have extended to us throughout the years. We believe that their support and desire to improve outcomes for Uganda’s children will benefit the whole nation.”

Many pupils from the institution relied on remote learning to prepare for their final exams when schools were closed as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. The extended closure of schools and the restriction of movement to fight Covid-19 meant that pupils could no longer benefit from the in person daily relationship with their teachers. The institution had to quickly adapt and create a remote learning programme called Bridge@home for pupils which included WhatsApp quizzes, lesson guides, self-study packs and digital story books.

Bridge schools Uganda opened its doors in 2015 and since then the affordable community school programme has continued to deliver a life changing education that transforms lives, opening the door to a successful future for many children in the country. The institution teaches the Ugandan curriculum and works closely with the Ministry of Education and Sports.