‘The Spirit of Clovelly Park’ – Jamaican Educator Frances-Marie Coke Celebrates Kingston College, Jamaica, in its 95th Year

A reluctant young teacher unexpectedly finds herself in a 1970s Jamaican high school filled with adolescent boys who challenge her to prove her mettle and become an outstanding teacher.

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. Frances-Marie Coke has produced a compelling memoir that charts her course to becoming a successful teacher, counselor and coach for numerous young men who have carried on the legacy of their school and made their own way in the world. After a decade at KC, Coke moved on to a successful career in education and human resource management, but she asserts with deep conviction, ‘I valued all my jobs and gave each one everything I had; but in the end, none can compare with teaching at KC. None made me realise that what I did every moment could determine the next move in the life of a young and vulnerable person.’ 

It was this realisation that caused her to return to KC after she completed the one year she had promised to stay at the school and left to pursue what she thought would be her dream job as a copywriter in advertising and public relations. Within a few months she discovered how much she longed for the boys and the meaning that teaching them had brought into her life. ‘The Spirit of Clovelly Park’ is a touching story of learning and teaching, sometimes heart-rending, sometimes hilarious, but always an eyeopener, a journey through the challenging years of socio-political upheaval in Jamaica, and one into the heart and soul of the author. 

The family of Kingston College, now just five years from its 100th anniversary, is lucky to have had someone like the author of this inspiring story, with the insight, talent, and honesty to produce this memorable birthday present to a school that has made its mark in Jamaica and whose past students continue to make their mark wherever they are.

Watch the Author, Frances-Marie Coke, reading extracts from her book:

Video 1: https://share.vidyard.com/watch/2p5s98QNAr31zT8hw3uTrP?

Video 2: https://share.vidyard.com/watch/SmMDyZPVQVWYsPd4V2D1eA

“The Spirit of Clovelly Park” By Frances-Marie Coke, Available from Amazon

About the Author

Frances-Marie Coke is an educator, born in Jamaica. After a decade at Kingston College, she worked in personnel and human resource management, designing and facilitating a wide range of training and development programs. As an administrator and lecturer at the University of the West Indies, she contributed to the work of the Mona School of Business, a major provider of management education in the Caribbean region. She won several prizes for poetry, fiction and playwriting in literary competitions staged by the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission. Her poems have appeared in The Jamaica Observer Literary Arts magazine, The Caribbean Writer, the Australian publication Kunapippi, and three Jamaica Observer literary publications, “Bearing Witness 1,” “Bearing Witness 2,” and “Bearing Witness 3." Since relocating to Florida, she has continued to write and work in education. Her publications include two volumes of poetry: “Intersections” published by Peepal Tree Press, Leeds, U.K. and “The Balm of Dusk Lilies” published by the Jamaica Observer Literary Publications.

The Spirit of Clovelly Park …in the Words of its Readers

It made me laugh and cry…and reminded me of my own very British Education exams set and marked in England with no reference to the country of my birth and childhood. Still like you literature and books were my passion, I just wish one of my teachers would have I just wish one of my teachers would have appreciated the imbalance but I guess at that time it wasn’t acceptable!!

Suze, UK

I found the book entirely refreshing because it captures so engagingly what one would expect in a boys school, especially one with KC’s profile. I learned a lot from your book especially since I have never had formal training as a teacher although I have been teaching for years.

B Frances, Jamaica

The Spirit of Clovelly Park, is a lively, easy to read (I completed it in three sittings, which is unusual for me) documentation of the KC experience, which explores several aspects of the political-sociology of Jamaica in that period. It should be a must-be read for everyone who is or has been involved with KC and with education. It should be part of the literature curriculum at KC. It should be in every library in every country in the Anglophone-Caribbean.

Patrick Smikle, KC Graduate, Jamaica

For many, teaching is a job. In a personal and highly readable account, Frances shows how educators can explore contemporary scholarship toward a far more dynamic and meaningful education of their students.

Errol Lecky, KC Graduate, Toronto

Now that we have the CXCs and are no longer constrained by Cambridge and London University, are we including more relatable works? For me ‘Julius Caesar’ and ‘Animal Farm’ were exciting. I cannot remember anything else.

Audley Jones, Quiz team/KC, Graduate, N.Y.

Your book has touched me in a special place. I remember being “punished” by being sent to Mr. Forrest’s garden to tend to the roses. Regularly. …I really appreciate the way you weaved the political realities into the story. I marvel that KC sat in the middle of a warzone, in the midst of tribal warfare and wonder now how much danger we were in. I love the book, the stories and the remembrance of things past.

Barrington Salmon, quiz team/KC graduate, Maryland

This is a remarkable book, in fact a brilliant and wonderful surprise, a surprise only in the sense that I had no idea it was in the offing. With anyone who cares to, I hope to be having a conversation about it for months, perhaps even for years. A bright, courageous, eloquent, versatile spirit has distilled for all time the spirit of Kingston College as she experienced it in her time. Wally Johnson’s time. Peter Maxwell’s time. Douglas Forrest’s time. For, incredibly, it is as much the spirit of Kingston College in our time, as anyone else’s time collectively.

A. Patrick Johnson, KC Graduate, Ontario

The Spirit of Clovelly Park’is compelling. Why didn’t we boys like to read literature? Was it because we could not relate to the archaic 17th century words and phrases that are as foreign as Latin? Would we be more excited reading the works of Langston, Hughes, Claude Mackay, and as you mentioned, Mervyn Morris (I should familiarize myself with some of his writings)? Now that we have the CXCs and are no longer constrained by Cambridge and London University, are we including more relatable works? For me ‘Julius Caesar’ and ‘Animal Farm’ were exciting. I cannot remember anything else.

Audley Jones, Quiz team/KC Graduate, N.Y.

It was more than a pleasure reading through your book. I guess being so familiar with the setting, meant that I could actually feel a part of it, and that made it so much more special. I found myself wiping tears as often as I broke into smiles, as I read. Your familiarity with little details – like Orett being the country boy from Titchfield who had come to town, (and turned 3A upside down), and many others, is commendable. Your knowledge of the times, and the skill with which you integrate it into the piece, made for such very interesting and informative reading.

Selbourne Goode, KC graduate, Florida

Aw, this book is so wonderfully written!! It is a compelling history of the times (Jamaica in the 70’s and 80’s) and is a treatise for Jamaican educators. It is also a sweeping portrayal of the political, economic and social landscape of Jamaica during those times. You have told your story with exceptional candour and at times with great wit!! The little stories within the book are animated and graphic, with a very recognizable slate of characters!!

Orett Campbell, Quiz team/KC graduate, Trinidad & Tobago

Must-read even if you never heard of KC. No one who went to KC should miss the opportunity to relive the years through the eyes of an amazingly skillful storyteller. The compelling nature of the storytelling is why others should read this. The eye for detail brings you right into the moment. Adding deep, firsthand, expert insights into challenges related to the empowerment of young men to your awareness of societal issues is another critical reason for reading this.

Amazon Review, Trevor Smith, KC graduate, Jamaica

The chapters on Schools’ Challenge Quiz in particular should be required reading, analysis, and discussion for teacher trainees. Frances-Marie Coke must be congratulated on providing a fascinating self-reveal, a valuable resource on experiences rarely documented, and a significant stimulus for thought and analysis among those who are interested in or involved in the education of young people.

Elsa Leo-Rhynie, Professor Emerita, UWI

As a coach, Coke attended to the needs of each team member, engendered friendship, and a competitive spirit among members of the quiz community, and ensured that they recognized lessons about commitment, collaboration and camaraderie that would serve them well throughout their lives. But I daresay that even those who are cynical about KC overenthusiasm will find much to cherish in this book. It is about a just KC, but it is not just about KC. It is about Jamaica, its past, present and future.

Stephen Vasciannie, Quiz team/KC graduate, Jamaica