Eden Lodge Primary Students Tour the Central Bank of Barbados

Hard work is already being rewarded for a group of Class Four students from the Eden Lodge Primary School. Their diligence in preparing for the Barbados Secondary School Entrance Exam was recognised by their tutor, who treated them to a tour of the Central Bank of Barbados and its museum, the Exchange Interactive Centre. 

Peter Grosvenor, a Financial Analyst at the Central Bank, gave the students free lessons every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, starting in January this year, as part of the organisation’s public outreach. During these sessions, the children completed quizzes, assessments and competitions that they won prizes for. The performance of the students was tracked over the past two terms and they have all shown improvement.

Anton Belgrave, Director of the Bank’s Research and Economic Analysis Department, kicked off the visit with a discussion during which he told the students what to expect in this new season of their lives – secondary school. He spoke with them about the behaviours to expect and what their overall experience would be like. 

Taking over from Belgrave were the tour guides for the day, Human Resources Administrator Ronnie Cummins and Ché-Annika Mayers of the Bank’s Corporate Communications Unit. Cummins told the students about the different career options available at the Bank and expanded on the many paths that they could explore. He spoke about the importance of being knowledgeable in the subjects that they will be doing in secondary school, while Anton stressed the need for proficiency in subjects related to their future careers.

As the students travelled through the Bank, they had the opportunity to meet the Governor and chat with some of the economists. They learned about the history and culture of the economy in Barbados and talked about prominent persons in business, such as Rachael Pringle. 

At the end of the tour, the students had nothing but positive feedback about their time spent at the Bank and bragged about their love of the view from inside the Tom Adams Financial Centre.

Grosvenor revealed that his goal for the tour was to educate the students and give them exposure to the working environment and the occupations available. He also wanted to use this visit as an opportunity to drive home the need to study hard and apply yourself to achieve your goals. 

He hopes to continue this initiative in the future and encourages others who have teaching skills to give back and reach out to the schools. He indicated that not many children are fortunate to have opportunities like this and encouraged anyone that can help to do so. 

“I just want to use the gift of teaching to give back.”