SANDY LANE RESORT, in keeping with its commitment to its adopted school, Alexandra Secondary, recently rewarded teacher Leslie Lett and student Gabriella Farley for their outstanding performances.

Lett, an English teacher, collected a token of acknowledgement for being voted Teacher Of The Year by the members of staff, while 11-year-old Farley was acknowledged for submitting the winning essay in the Barbados leg of the Conde Naste Traveller's My Caribbean Essay Contest last year. Conde Naste is one of the leading travel and leisure magazines in the world.

Sandy Lane's human resources director Gail Springer said the St James resort fully supported the activities Alexandra embarked on.

Lett, a former krosfyah band member, said the support they received from the resort was truly appreciated.

He said he was also proud of Farley, one of his students, adding she was a very committed and promising student.

Farley is known as 'the Sandy Lane baby' because her grandmother, Esther Barker, works in the housekeeping department and her father, Julian Farley, is a member of the engineering team.

Her prize-winning essay addressed the issue of maintaining a healthy Barbados environment. As a reward for her achievement she attended the Caribbean Tourism Organisation conference in St Thomas, British Virgin Islands, last October.

"I am honoured to be a student of the Alexandra school and I am grateful for the gesture by Sandy Lane," said the first former, after she was presented with a $500 cheque.