Thirty-two students were honored for their outstanding academic achievements at an awards ceremony hosted by Fidelity Group of Companies on September 18, 2015. Students were recognized as part of The Fidelity Pays for As (FPA) educational program, in which the children of Fidelity staff members in grades one through 12 receive financial awards for A's earned on their report cards and in national examinations. Fidelity also unveiled its FPA Awards Wall, where students' names are inscribed for both the 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 academic years.

The program was established in 2013 in memory of Phillippa Ferguson-Wilson, Royal Fidelity's former assistant vice president of corporate finance, who passed away in that same year. Her pursuit of scholastic excellence throughout her life inspired the executives of Royal Fidelity Merchant Bank & Trust Limited and Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) Limited to implement an awards program to encourage the children of staff members to do the same.

FPA consists of two components, the Academic Plan and the Education Savings Plan. The Academic Plan is comprised of three awards programs - 'A' grade awards (report cards), national student achiever awards (BJC/BGCSE) and top achiever awards (sixth and 12th grades). The Education Savings Plan is designed to incentivize parents to begin saving toward their children's educational costs. The FPA savings account earns five percent interest. The program has grown seven percent from year with 73 students now enrolled.

While the overall objective of Fidelity's Pays for A's is to motivate students to excel in school, the program also aims to promote active parental involvement in children's education. "Parents are the key to the success of students," says Anwer Sunderji, group chairman, Fidelity Group of Companies. "For students to reach their highest level of academic achievement, parents need to have an active and engaged role in their lives. That is what makes all the difference".

Sharmaine Sinclair, assistant director of education, monitoring and evaluation department, was the guest speaker at the awards ceremony. She encouraged students and parents to "rise above" all challenges and obstacles to achieve their life goals.

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