History
Our History
In the year 2012 Ocho Rios College (ORC), Parent Company St. Ann College was founded upon the blood, sweat and tears of one young woman, Kerine Davis, who had her head on straight. The outstanding development of the Ocho Rios College is inspired by its fundamental mission to be a “Basis of Union” in providing a tertiary institution of learning as a community and family legacy”. The college founder and first headmistress, Miss Kerine Davis chose the motto “Knowledge is Light”. This choice was inspired by Psalm 36:9, “for with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light”. From the outset, the school focused on the fourfold development of its charges – physical, mental, spiritual and social – to create well-rounded students that are able to contribute positively to community and country.
In its journey from 2012, with approximately 2,269 admissions, ORC has produced significant amount of outstanding women and men who have made their mark in a wide range of disciplines in the areas of: Hospitality, Business and Medical, with many achieving high marks in their respective fields. The school’s success is, in a large part, due to the outstanding leadership it has enjoyed in the persons of its principals and staff and the invaluable contribution of students, parents and other stakeholders as they continue to support the college in many ways.
Humble Beginning
Our humble beginning- Ocho Rios College started since 2012 at Falcon Crest with 40 forty students within the Allied Health Care, Early Childhood, Food and Beverage and Food Preparation department.
Initially, Miracle Brown served as the first principal, in combination with proprietor Kerine Davis provided leadership for the school. Falcon Crest our first location, was not conducive to learning and we relocated to Little Pub Complex two months after we started. At Little Pub Complex, we spent approximately four years where we would have grown and developed. Throughout this period, we had encountered many obstacles getting our accreditation from NCTvet; but through toil, hard work, commitment and perseverance, we were granted accreditation in the year 2015.
In the year 2013, Mr. Miracle Brown resigned his post as a principal and the position was then handed over to Albert Brown with Kevin Davis as vice principal. Mr. Kevin Davis added two (2) other skill areas to the curriculum, Massage Therapy and Business Administration. His journey with the college saw growth, especially in the areas of promoting extracurricular activities such as our first “Miss Ocho Rios College” which was held on the school premises.
It was a successful event with sponsorship from the business community. Dornell Hinds who was sponsored by Irie FM was crowned first winner of Miss Ocho Rios College in the year 2013.
This marvelous event strengthened the students’ morale, values and broadened their horizon through the significant exposure. Mr. Brown and Mr. Davis battled for the school accreditation with Heart/Trust. Mr. Brown also added short course in housekeeping. We held our first graduation in 2014 at the Ocean Palm Hotel in James Avenue, with a total of 36 graduates. Mr. Davis then resigned his post as a vice principal in 2014. Unfortunately, Mr. Brown also resigned his post due to illness.
As the years progressed, we sought to find a more conducive environment since the building was too complicated in terms of an emergency; the many stairs and curves would make it difficult for people to exit safely. We then relocated to 5 Milford Road, Ocho Rios where our class sizes continued to grow.
Mr. Ian Gardner as Principal
In 2014 Mr. Ian Gardner came on board as a Principal. He worked assiduously and was successful in placing students on work experience for industry exposure after their training at businesses in the hospitality industry such as Shaw Park Hotel, Mongoose Restaurant, Evita’s Restaurant, and Sand Castle among others. He is a man of plan, purpose and action. He strengthened the administrative department, and taught food and beverage and food preparation while working as a principal with Kerine Davis.
Our first accreditation occurs when Boys Town VTC came on board and conducted assessment for the hospitality areas within Food and Beverage, Food Preparation and Housekeeping.
Mrs. Stacey Ann- Gayle who is a member of the school board as well as a member of the Executive Committee assisted in the process .within a few months we were successful in getting our Business Administration, Massage Therapy and Early Childhood skill areas accredited with the help of Ms. Simms and Ms. Dillon from Heart St. Ann’s Bay, namely “Work Force Solution.” At our first Heroes Day Concert, which involved both students and the community, we displayed exhibitions and cultural performances. The event brought about camaraderie with togetherness in the college among students, teachers and the general public. Mr. Gardner migrated in 2016 after giving the college two years of his time which will continue to impact the college values. However, he remains an active member on the Ocho Rios College school board.
In 2016 the current principal and founder, Kerine Davis, realized that the school can only reach its full potential, if it is located in a more accessible area that adds to the enhancement of its image and perception by the general public. She then revamped the college and relocated it to 2 Newlin Street in the heart of Ocho Rios in the vicinity of many commercial businesses. This step was one of the greatest strategic decisions the college made. As a result, its numbers rose significantly in the first year of operations at the new location. From September 2016- August 2018 we capped a large number of students a total of one hundred and twenty (120) for each intake during the period.
Our image and the services we offered had sparked the eyes of the public. We were able to offer scholarships to graduates to pass on to family members and others that lived within their community.
These great milestones allowed the college to gain its first certificate of excellence from Boys Town VTC on 14/06/2018.
In expansion mode, we have partnered with resorts on the north coast such as Royalton White Sands and Blue Waters, Ocean Coral Springs Hotel, Moon Palace, Jewel, Riu, Grand Bahia Principle, Couples San Souci and F.D.R. In the medical and allied health services area we have placed students on work experience who has moved on to become staff members of entities such as Priory Infirmary, Walkers Wood Nursing Home, Mustard Seeds and Eagle Medical Lab among others. We were delighted to add a few extra-curricular activities which assisted in developing students’ morals and values, networking skill, inter-personal relationships and skills, team work and general work attitude. These extra-curricular activities included sports day in which houses (Green house-Magnificent, Yellow House-Motivation and Red House-Champion) competes against each other in various track and field events. The colors used for the houses represents the school colors.
The debating club was also established with both students and staff participating with debating themes revolving around roles relating to the Dean of Discipline, Student Coordinator, Quality Assurance, Secretary, Accountant, and Class captain.
The medical department has worked significantly hard for the college by way of adding meaningful values. Phlebotomy, Accredited by American Medical Technology was added to the skill areas as well as a few shorter programs which are being offering for six weeks duration. These programs are certified by the institution. These areas were treated with equal dignity as the accredited programs emphasis placed on, work experience, graduations, participation in extracurricular activities, and incentives such as being honored as class captains.
Ocho Rios College, now located at 89 Buckfield, St. Ann, honors the community of Mansfield Heights, also called Falklands, with five scholarships per year to any five young adults who were born and raised in Mansfield Heights. Five scholarships are awarded annually (Every September) through the Child Development Agency in St. Ann’s Bay, to wards of the state so that they can benefit from learning a skill of their choice. These scholarships were made available through the generosity of Miss Davis, the school’s principal.
The educational experience at ORC reinforces knowledge gained through the school, by giving a true reflection of what real life work environment is. As we strove, we boldly took on the education spectrum with a firm and well-motivated mindset reflecting our organizational culture and values.