This High School Power Ranking is an assessment of the biggest winners across Jamaica’s three most prominent competitions at the High School Level, Schoolboy Football, Boys’ Champs and to add an “academic sport”, TVJ’s Schools’ Challenge Quiz. Using a specially devised power ranking metric, Tanya Lee breaks down the top five schools.
5. St. George’s College:
STGC has done creditably over the last 20 years with Bertis Bell and his boys winning back to back Manning Cup & Olivier Shield titles in 2008 and 2009, and again in 2011 and 2012. St. George’s College were also Walker Cup Champions in 2011 and 2014 and Super Cup Champions in 2015. While they have no titles in athletics or in the School’s Challenge Quiz over the period, their exploits in football competitions has earned them the fifth spot in the Power Rankings.
4. Glenmuir High:
Situated in May Pen, Clarendon, Glenmuir High School has been largely known for their academic achievements, and even has two School Challenge Quiz titles to show for it: in 2001 and 2002. However, write them off in sports at your own peril; the school has quietly amassed some sporting titles along the way. Glenmuir were DaCosta Cup Champions in 2004, 2006 and 2012, Ben Francis Cup Champions in 2004, 2005 and 2009. Even though urban teams normally dominate the Olivier Shield, Glenmuir hoisted the title in 2004 and 2006 to place them in 4th place in the Power Rankings.
3. Jamaica College:
Jamaica College has lived up to its motto “Fervet Opus in Campis”, translated “work is burning in the field”. This football powerhouse has won the most titles in Schoolboy football history, adding 8 Manning Cups, 6 Oliver Shield titles, 3 Walker Cups and a Super Cup title to their illustrious football trophy cabinet. But while Jamaica College has fielded good teams in athletics and has boasted a few talented names, they have only won Boys’ Champs titles twice since the turn of the millennium, with victories in 2000 and 2011. Over the last 20 years, JC have registered no quiz titles and have only won the illustrious title once in the competition’s 40 year history.
2. Kingston College:
Kingston College is the winningest school in Jamaica’s sporting history, but after looking back at the last 20 years, they can’t truly lay claim to the top spot. KC has won Boys’ Champs 8 times in the last 19 years, including six in a row from 2001-2006, but were subsequently shut out from winning Champs for a number of years by a resurgent Calabar squad. KC returned to its perch in 2019 when they emphatically won the Boys’ Champs title by over 100 points. In football, the 2018 Manning Cup Champions are the only school to win the coveted Super Cup title twice (in 2017 & 2019). They have won the Walker Cup twice within the last 20 years (in 2000 and 2016). While in the academic sphere, KC has always been “there or thereabouts” to a Schools’ Challenge Quiz championship. They earned titles in 2007, 2009, 2011 and again in 2014 to make them deserving of second spot in the Power Rankings.
1. Calabar:
Calabar’s accolades are many and varied across multiple disciplines. It is hard to ignore 9 Boys’ Champs titles in 19 years, 7 of which were back to back from 2012 to 2019. Calabar’s pedigree is not only at Champs but in the academic sphere that is Schools’ Challenge Quiz, with four wins in the past 20 years, and the distinction of winning the quiz title for 3 consecutive years in 2004, 2005 and 2006. Calabar’s pedigree has not quite shone in football, but they still managed to cop the Manning Cup and Olivier Shield titles in 2005 and the Walker Cup in 2007. For those exploits, they top the Power Rankings.
Tanya Lee is probably the Caribbean’s most recognisable Sports Marketer who has managed competitions across football, cricket, basketball and golf to name a few. She is head of LEEP Marketing, an athlete brand manager and publicist.