Lyford Cay Foundations helps local students to attend World Scholar’s Cup in London

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LCF Grants Committee Chair, Sarah Farrington and Grants Committee Member, Lisa Orr pictured with Officials from St. John’s College – Ms. Kristia Knowles, Vice Principal of the Secondary Department and Ms. Shanderia Kemp, Secondary Department Spanish Teacher, and World Scholars Team Coach

Lyford Cay Foundations is pleased to announce the awarding of two grants for $5,000 each to St. John’s College and Aquinas College, which assisted students in defraying the cost of their travel expenses to the London Global Round of The World’s Scholars Cup.

Having already found success in the Nassau Round of the competition, St. John’s College and Aquinas College sent teams to compete in the Global Round in London, England, which took place July 26-31, under the theme “Reconstructing the Past”.

The World Scholar’s Cup is an international team academic competition in which more than15,000 students from over 65 countries participate each year. Local competitions are held early in the year, with qualifying teams moving to several global rounds held throughout the world. 

The competition culminates with a Championship Round at Yale University.  Dr. Nicola Virgill-Rolle, Executive Director of Lyford Cay Foundations, had the opportunity to view a portion of the Nassau Round earlier this year.  “It was uplifting to see so many students excited about academic challenges, analytical questions, essays and debate.  Students were excelling at working as a team”, she noted. 

In 2017, students from Aquinas College were able to compete in The World Scholar’s Cup both in Barcelona, Spain and at Yale University. They also competed in Sydney, Australia in 2018, winning awards for their achievements in both years. It is also not the first year that St. John’s College will be sending a team to compete at the international level, and the school is happy to be able to send a team again following the pandemic.

Lyford Cay Foundations Vice Chair, Mrs. Sarah Farrington, who also serves as Chair of the Grants Committee, was on hand to meet representatives from both schools. Mrs. Farrington noted, “When Lyford Cay Foundations learned about this amazing competition, we wanted to help students in The Bahamas make this opportunity a reality.  We are honoured to assist.” 

Since 1969, Lyford Cay Foundations has disbursed more than $50 million in the Bahamian community through its programmes, which are aimed at providing learning opportunities for Bahamian children, young adults, families, and communities who will benefit the most.