History of Mackenzie High School

Mackenzie High School, formerly Echols High School was established in 1946 to provide secondary education to students in Linden. The school began with 26 students and two teachers and initially was funded by the then Demerara Bauxite Company, Limited (DEMBA). When the present facilities were opened in 1959, there were five classrooms and three Science Laboratories. Through fund raising efforts by the Friends of MACKENZIE HIGH SCHOOL another Laboratory, a Library and four classrooms were added. LICHAS, an acronym for Linden Concert Hall and School, was opened in 1975. This building which has ten classrooms on the upper floor and a concert hall on the ground floor, houses the Lower School (Forms 1 - 111). Over the years and until 1976 when the Guyana Government took full control, the company was responsible for staffing, payment of salaries, housing for teachers and the general welfare of both students and teachers. At present the enrolment stands at ____ with a staff of ___ teachers. Examinations offered are the C.X.C. General and Basic Proficiency, the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency and University of London G.C.E. Advanced Level.. The school is at present one of the twelve pilot schools under the Secondary Schools Reform Project. Recently GEAP has promised help in expanding the school and has offered help in training and additional facilities.

In the Beginning

MACKENZIE High School, formerly Echols High School, now in its 60th year of existence, has maintained its status not only as the premier secondary learning institution in Linden but, undoubtedly, has kept its reputation among the top secondary schools in the country. Its history dates back to 1945, when it came into being, as, up to then, students from that riverain location had to travel to Georgetown if they wished to pursue secondary education. The journey undertaken by children, in those days, was not by road but sailing some 65 miles along the Demerara River. However, their parents were dissatisfied with that situation and a group of them, after World War II ended, explored the possibility of a school in the mining town. The Parent Teachers Association (PTA) of Mackenzie Undenominational School, now Mackenzie Primary School, met Mr. William Grant, Mr. Sam Blackett, Mr. Dawson Carr, Mr. Charles Gittens, Mr. F. Cheddie, Mr. W. Wright, Mr. William Nedd, Mr. O.D. Cambridge and the lone woman, Mrs. Beryl Joseph.

Growing school population

 

The Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) building that was near the Recreational Hall (now housing the Linden Museum) was used for general assembly, as the two were among those occupied temporarily by the growing school population. While the curriculum covered a number of subjects, Science, Art or Physical Education were not taught until, in 1957, when Mr. D.D. Sim became principal and the programme was reformed. Candidates from Echols no longer took College of Preceptors (CP) or Senior Cambridge examinations but switched to the General Certificate of Education (GCE) ‘O’ Level, from London University and the school became a centre for those tests. On September 11, 1959, with Sim still in charge, then Minister of Education and Community Development, Mr. Balram Singh Rai formally opened the now renamed Mackenzie High School (MHS) on Purpleheart Street, Mackenzie, where the main building is now located. That structure was built by Sprostons Construction Company to the architectural design of Messrs Mence and Moore. Through a trust deed, in 1959, as well, DEMBA handed over the property and the facilities within, together with the responsibility for policy and administration, to a Board of Trustees appointed by office. They were the Chief Justice of British Guiana, President of the Royal Agricultural and Commercial Society (RA&CS) of the colony and the Managing Director of DEMBA. Then Managing Director of DEMBA, Mr. J. G. Campbell remarked, at the opening, that “education is fundamental to the development and growth of a country. DEMBA has clearly and tangibly demonstrated its belief in this principle.” “With this completion of the new Mackenzie High School, this secondary school will be the most up-to-date in British Guiana,” he pledged. In his speech, the General Manager of DEMBA, Mr. J. N. Fraser particularly noted that the company had, not by accident, provided a fully equipped Science laboratory and a storeroom with space to accommodate a second when required. It happened at a time when the company was building a complex chemical plant nearby to produce alumina and would continue to require employees trained in technical subjects. Recognition of the four founding members of the MHS Board was reflected in the house system, through which houses were named after Mr. William Grant, Mr. O. D. Cambridge, Mr. Dorsett Carr and Mr. Sam Blackett. Mr. William Ogle replaced Mr. Sim, a Canadian, before Mr. John Cummings succeeded to the principal post in 1965, a year prior to candidates from MHS beginning to sit GCE ‘A’ level exams. The first batch that sat achieved a 100 per cent pass rate. Prior to then, students who qualified to enter sixth form had to seek admission to a senior secondary school in Georgetown, from where they wrote the ‘A’ levels and DEMBA offered scholarships for the purpose. Cummings died tragically in a road accident on the Soesdyke/Linden Highway in November 1971 and Mr. Seigfred Lyken and Mr. Josephus Bakker, in that order, acted briefly as Principal until Mr. Clifton A. McDonald was appointed to the position in September 1972.

Present Day

Presently, MHS offers 23 subjects at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations. It has 647 students, 232 boys and 405 girls. Last September, 39 students were admitted to the lower sixth form, the highest number in the history of the school. At the CSEC 2005 exams, 15-year-old Tahir Casey shredded the records of MHS when he passed in ten subjects, studded with straight ‘A’s as he obtained nine grade ones and one grade two. This year, at the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE), he recorded the most passes (five) ever achieved at the school. He got two grade ones and three grade threes. MHS, according to Ministry of Education 2001 statistics, placed third, behind Queen’s College and Bishops High School, out of 71 schools countrywide which offered candidates for the CXC. MHS scored passes in grades one, two and three and had a percentage pass of 84. 4, compared with 92 for QC and 91.6 for BHS. For those schools with grades one to four, also in 2001, MHS was joint second, tied with BHS, when QC led with 98.3 per cent, MHS and BHS both recorded 98.2 per cent in that category. Over the years, MHS has continued to do well with the overall pass rate reaching 89 per cent in 2005. On November 15, 2005, a new MHS Board, with 15 members, was commissioned by Mr. Vibert Hart, Head of the Schools Boards Secretariat in the Education Ministry. The Board is now chaired by Mr. Brian Claxton and the others with him are Mr. Basil Jaipaul, Mr. Abdul Majid, Mr. Orrin Gordon, Mr. Leon Roberts, Mr. Aubrey Benjamin, Mr. Peter Benny, Mrs. Joy Walton, Mrs. Leslyn Charles, Mrs. Miriam Zephyr, Ms. Camille Cummings, Ms. Serena Knights, Ms. Debbie Fiedtkou, Mrs. Cheryl McDonald and Mr. Gary Roberts, the Deputy Principal. In retrospect, almost 30 years after it lost much of its power, the new body is empowered to recruit staff, make appointments, enforce discipline and appraise teachers among other tasks.