The La Salle Technical Secondary School in Hohola, Port Moresby will have its first batch of Grade 10s sit for the National Examinations come October. This will be the first if its kind for the school since its establishment as a Secondary School this year. Principal, Brother Antony Samy Pancras, said this was a proud moment and an achievement for the school after being registered this year with the Department of Education. Brother Antony stated that the school was transformed from a Technical College to now a Secondary School. In terms of preparation for the grade 10 students’ exams, Brother Antony said so far the students have been attending remedial classes on the weekends to catch up on anything they might have missed. He added that with the National General Elections out of the way, the students have been studying and preparing well and believes that they will perform well with a total of 171 Grade 10 students who will sit for the exams. Since its establishment as a Secondary School, La Salle Technical Secondary School currently has a total of 634 students enrolled in the school combined of Grade 9s and 10s. Brother Antony stated that he plans on introducing Grade 11 next year, followed by the recruitment of new teaching staff. “We still have a lot to do for the school in terms of infrastructure and academic wise but for now we as a school will put our full concentration on our first batch of Grade 10s who will sit for their exams next month which is on the 10th to the 14th.” Brother Antony further said that once they have registered with the department this year, the school is in no time to waste and are planning on moving things forward for the school. He stated that his task as a principal is to create more infrastructural projects for the school. Being that, Brother Antony has not been more than happy to announce the support from AusAID who will be funding these classrooms for the Grade 11s. “A successful application to AusAID for funding resulted in fourteen additional classrooms and new workshops for auto-mechanics, metal and carpentry, and expansion of the curriculum to Grade 11.” “With the funding made, we are positive that next year we have accomplished most of the outcome of our plans for the school, this including the recruitment of more new teaching staff as well as new staff room.” According to Brother Antony, so far with the 634 students already enrolled in the school, he hopes the number will increase and expects one thousand plus students from 2024 onwards.