Kingston, Jamaica; August 19, 2011–Campion College alumni and business leaders – the Hendrickson Family – officially opened a state-of-the-art science lab named in their honour at the school today (Friday, August 19). The overall project cost some J$6.4million and the lab, named The Hendrickson Family Physics Lab, will serve the CSEC and CAPE examination students at the school.

“Campion is extremely grateful to the Hendrickson family for this immense gift to the school,” said Chairman of the school’s Vision 2020 Campaign, Andrew Mahfood at the opening ceremony. “This gift will allow the school to provide the best educational experience possible for some of Jamaica’s brightest students.”
Mr. Mahfood said that the project, which took just under six weeks to be completed, included the extensive renovation and upgrade of the physics lab, prep room and the neighboring science lecture room, the purchase of a wide array of apparatus and experiment equipment, as well as the integration of technology tools in line with 21st century best practices.

Speaking on behalf of his family, alumnus Matthew Lyn praised Campion’s administration and its teachers for their commitment to academic excellence since the school’s establishment 50 years ago. In particular, Mr. Lyn expressed his gratitude for the education Campion provided him and the ten other members of his family who have attended the school over the years. “As a family, we have always recognized that for institutions to offer their students the best educational opportunities, there will always be a need for major investment in the actual physical infrastructure of these institutions,” said Mr. Lyn. “We see this gift as an investment in the future of Jamaica, through the children who will benefit. It is our hope that in their receiving support for their educational pursuits, they will, in turn, feel compelled to assist in a similar way for the next generation, creating and sustaining a culture of philanthropy.”

Principal Grace Baston also thanked the donors for their support of the school and its hardworking teachers and students who she said will finally have the kind of learning environment that they need and deserve. She revealed that for the 2011 CSEC examinations the school enjoyed a 96-100% pass rate in all 14 subjects with 44% of the students receiving seven or more ones and 11% with nine ones. Similarly, for the CAPE examinations, the school had a 100% pass rate in 14 of 15 subjects at Unit 1 and 100% pass rate in 10 of 13 subjects at Unit 2, with an average of 24% of the students being awarded four or more ones in both Units. In 2010, five out of seven Jamaica Scholarships were awarded to Campionites and two Rhodes Scholarships (Jamaica and Caribbean) for a total of 14 in 50 years. Campionites have also excelled in the sciences overseas, among them Joel Sadler, a member of the team of inventors of the Jaipur Knee, which was named one of the Top 50 inventions of 2009 by Time Magazine.

The Hendrickson Family Physics Lab is part of the first phase of the school’s ten-year Vision 2020 Campaign, which was established in 2009 to support the school’s development plan and has raised over US$1million. In this first phase, the school has set out to renovate four junior science labs and build Jamaica’s first modern library media centre. The DB&G Integrated Science Lab was the first of the projects to be completed back in January and it is expected that another lab will be completed in coming months with the Jonathan Stewart Library Media Centre set to open in 2012.

ABOUT CAMPION COLLEGE
With a student enrolment of 1450, Campion College has been awarded the Top CSEC & Top CAPE School trophies over a number of years based on its examination results and continues to see improvements in these results. Thirty-five per cent of Campion’s incoming students are from primary schools and, like those from preparatory schools, they are among the top GSAT performers in the island.

Campion was founded by the Jesuits (the Society of Jesus, a Roman Catholic religious order of priests) in the 1940s. It was originally a small private preparatory boarding school for boys named Campion Hall. The high school, Campion College, was established in 1960 and was initially a private school for boys, which started with 105 students. A Jesuit desire to include students who could not afford private education, led to various attempts by the school to render it grant-aided (a public high school subsidized by the Government), which was achieved in 1976. Campion also became co-educational in 1976 when the school merged with Sts. Peter and Paul High School for Girls. The year 2010 marked the 50th anniversary of the school.

For more information, please contact: Ashley Gambrill-Rousseau, Director of Development & Alumni Affairs
Tel: 876-822-6696 or 927-9555. Email: campiondevelopmentoffice@gmail.com