Secondary Schools in the Eastern Caribbean: St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, Grenada, Dominica and St Vincent
Quick Answer: Every child on these five islands moves to secondary school at about 11 or 12 and sits CSEC at 16, but the route in differs. St Kitts and Nevis has no entrance exam and zones pupils by home address; St Lucia, Grenada and St Vincent use CXC's CPEA; Dominica runs its own Grade Six National Assessment. Here is how each works, with the main schools and the private options.
Secondary school on the five islands of the eastern Caribbean starts at about 11 or 12 and ends with CSEC, the Caribbean Examinations Council exam sat at 16, but the way in is different on each island. St Kitts and Nevis has no entrance exam and assigns children to the school nearest their home. St Lucia, Grenada and St Vincent and the Grenadines use CXC's CPEA, the Caribbean Primary Exit Assessment, which drew 1,890, 1,711 and 1,766 candidates respectively in 2026. Dominica runs its own Grade Six National Assessment, sat by 792 children in May 2026. This guide covers each system, the main schools, and the private choices for expat families, with links to our St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, Grenada, Dominica and St Vincent pages.
How does placement work in St Kitts and Nevis?
The Ministry of Education's secondary education page is blunt: all children aged 11 plus to 12 are promoted from primary school, there is no Common Entrance Examination, and each child must attend the secondary school closest to their primary place of residence. Children living in Basseterre are randomly assigned to one of the two schools in the Basseterre zone, Basseterre High School and Washington Archibald High School. Since September 2009 a family wanting a different school has had to apply in writing to the Chief Education Officer, or the Principal Education Officer on Nevis. The ministry's directory lists seven government secondary schools on St Kitts. Education is compulsory from 5 to 16, school buses are free, and a fund covers textbooks and exam fees for low-income families.
On Nevis the same residence rule applies: a June 2017 notice from the Nevis education department told parents to register at the government school nearest their home. The two government secondary schools are Charlestown Secondary School, which also houses the Nevis Sixth Form College, and Gingerland Secondary School. Browse the rest on our Basseterre and Charlestown pages.
What replaced the Common Entrance exam in St Lucia?
St Lucia's Common Entrance Examination is gone. The government announced in August 2020 that the CPEA would replace it from that September, and the 2026 sitting drew 1,890 candidates, with the national average up from 77.24% in 2025 to 79.26% and St Lucia the top-scoring territory in the region. Placement follows the score. The Department of Education's 2020 statistical digest counts 22 public secondary schools in 2019/20 and ranks them by enrolment: Vieux Fort Comprehensive was largest with 966 pupils, then Castries Comprehensive (714), the girls' St Joseph's Convent (693), Leon Hess Comprehensive (679) and the boys' St Mary's College (613). See more on our Castries page.
How do Grenada and St Vincent use the CPEA?
Grenada swapped its national Common Entrance for the CPEA in 2012 and, in May 2023, reinstated universal secondary education, so every child who sits the assessment gets a place. The Ministry of Education's 2026 summary records 1,711 registered candidates, 1,709 placed, and a warning that transfers into schools already full will not be allowed. The 2021/22 digest counts 21 public secondary schools. In St George's the best-known are Grenada Boys' Secondary School, Presentation Brothers College and St Joseph's Convent, with St George's Institute in Tempe; see our St George's page.
St Vincent and the Grenadines sat the CPEA on 13 and 14 May 2026 with 1,766 registered pupils at 18 centres; the four external multiple-choice papers carry 60% of the score, and the ministry runs its placement exercise after results in June. The 2024/25 digest lists 29 secondary schools, led by St Vincent Grammar School (635 boys) and Girls' High School (629 girls) in Kingstown. Those two also topped the ministry's 2026 CSEC release with pass rates of 97.39% and 96.75%, against 78.63% of subject entries at Grades I to III nationally.
What is Dominica's Grade Six National Assessment?
Dominica keeps a home-grown exit exam. The ministry's Curriculum, Measurement and Evaluation Unit sets the Grade 6 National Assessment as the primary exit test, and the 2026 sitting on 28 and 29 May had 792 candidates at 62 centres, with papers in Language Arts, Social Sciences, Composition, Mathematics, and Science and Technology. After the 2025 results, pupils selected for the Roseau, ITSS and Portsmouth catchment areas were sent forms to rank their school preferences, and the government awarded 86 scholarships and 108 bursaries on the scores. The last published count from the Central Statistics Office is 15 secondary schools in 2011/12. In Roseau the three to know are Dominica Grammar School, St Mary's Academy and Convent High School.
Which islands have private or international schools?
| Island | Placement exam | Secondary schools (government count) | Notable schools |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Kitts and Nevis | None; zoned by home address | 7 on St Kitts (ministry directory); Charlestown and Gingerland on Nevis | Basseterre High, Washington Archibald High, Charlestown Secondary; ICCS and St Kitts International Academy (private) |
| St Lucia | CPEA (since 2020) | 22 public (2019/20 digest) | St Mary's College, St Joseph's Convent, Castries Comprehensive; International School of Saint Lucia (private) |
| Grenada | CPEA (since 2012) | 21 public (2021/22 digest) | GBSS, Presentation Brothers College, St Joseph's Convent; Westmorland School (private) |
| Dominica | Grade 6 National Assessment | 15 (2011/12, last published) | Dominica Grammar School, St Mary's Academy, Convent High School |
| St Vincent and the Grenadines | CPEA | 29 (2024/25 digest) | St Vincent Grammar School, Girls' High School; Sugar Mill Academy (private primary) |
Foreign-curriculum options are thin. On St Kitts, St Kitts International Academy in Morgan Heights offers a PreK to Grade 12 international liberal arts programme, and Immaculate Conception Catholic School (ICCS) in Bird Rock is the Catholic alternative, taking pupils through to CXC exams. On Nevis, Nevis International Secondary School describes itself on its own site as the island's only private secondary school, teaching Forms 1 to 5 (ages 11 to 17) and offering 12 CSEC subjects. In St Lucia, the International School of Saint Lucia in Rodney Bay teaches a Canadian primary and secondary curriculum. Grenada's Westmorland School is a private primary and secondary school for ages 3 to 18. In St Vincent, Sugar Mill Academy at Ratho Mill is a private primary school founded in 1986; its pupils then sit the CPEA. Dominica has no international school in our directory.
On every island the exit exam is the same. CXC offers 33 CSEC subjects each May and June, graded I to VI, with Grades I to III accepted for university matriculation; how to read those grades, and CAPE after them, is in our CSEC and CAPE guide.
Frequently asked questions
- Is secondary school free in St Kitts and Nevis?
- Education in St Kitts and Nevis is universal, co-educational and compulsory from ages 5 to 16, and the Ministry of Education publishes no tuition fee for its government secondary schools. It runs a School Transport System that carries children to school at no cost to parents, and a Student Education Learning Fund that provides textbooks and covers examination fees for low-income families. There is no entrance exam; children aged 11 plus to 12 are promoted to the secondary school closest to their home.
- What exam do students take to enter secondary school in St Lucia?
- The Caribbean Primary Exit Assessment (CPEA), set by the Caribbean Examinations Council. St Lucia's Ministry of Education replaced the Common Entrance Examination with the CPEA from September 2020. In 2026, 1,890 St Lucian students sat it and the national average rose to 79.26%, the highest in the region that year. Placement in a secondary school follows the result.
- What is CPEA?
- CPEA is the Caribbean Primary Exit Assessment, a CXC assessment taken at the end of primary school in St Lucia, Grenada, St Vincent and the Grenadines and several other territories. Rather than testing subjects, it assesses four literacies (mathematical, language, civic and scientific) through school-based work across Grades 5 and 6 plus an external multiple-choice paper in Mathematics, Language Arts, Science and Social Studies. In St Vincent the external papers count for 60% of the score.
- What is the Grade 6 National Assessment in Dominica?
- It is Dominica's own primary exit exam, run by the Ministry of Education's Curriculum, Measurement and Evaluation Unit rather than by CXC. In 2026 it was held on 28 and 29 May, with 792 candidates across 62 centres sitting Language Arts, Social Sciences, Composition, Mathematics and Science and Technology. Results decide secondary placement; children in the Roseau, Portsmouth and ITSS catchment areas rank their preferred schools, and top scorers receive government scholarships and bursaries.
- Which is the best secondary school in Grenada?
- Grenada's ministry does not publish a school league table, so there is no official answer. The schools families ask about first are Grenada Boys' Secondary School, Presentation Brothers College and St Joseph's Convent in St George's, all of which prepare pupils for CSEC and CAPE; Grenada Boys' Secondary School was also the largest public secondary school in the 2021/22 statistical digest, with 800 pupils. Placement is decided by CPEA result and the first-choice school named on the form.
- Are there international schools in Dominica?
- No international school in Dominica appears on the Ministry of Education's site or in the DailySchools directory. The secondary options in Roseau are Dominica Grammar School, the government co-educational school, St Mary's Academy, a Catholic co-educational school, and Convent High School, a Catholic girls' school. All three follow the CXC curriculum and prepare pupils for CSEC. Expat families who need a foreign curriculum usually look to St Kitts, St Lucia or Grenada instead.
