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For many of us, going to high school has become something that it is taken for granted. But the reality in Belize is that on average, only a third of the number of students who enroll in primary school do so for high school. That's according to data from the Ministry of Education published last year.

Now while there are many factors contributing to this daunting statistic one of the primary factors is money- or the lack of it.

That is why several organizations invest heavily in student scholarship programs, and Belize Bank is one of them.

Today at a ceremony inside the Radisson Hotel in Belize City. Some 18 deserving students were granted full high school and sixth form scholarships. Judith Parham is one of those lucky recipients.

Judith Parham - Scholarship Recipient
"I'm so happy that I received this scholarship because due to my father's illness, it was really hard to find the money to go to high school. But now that I received this scholarship I have the opportunity and the chance to be a better person and further my education to serve my beautiful country Belize."

8 students were granted scholarships to attend high school and 10 students were granted scholarships to attend Junior College. Rudy Guerrero is a recent graduate of the Bank's high school program. He along with 3 others will be joining the program this year again at the tertiary level.

Rudy Guerrero- Scholarship Recipient
"I live in San Ignacio and I come from a single parent family. I live in a household of 8 and this scholarship really relieves the stress in financial assistance that it needs to make all of us get a better education."

Emanuel Pech
"How have you been doing in school?"

Rudy Guerrero- Scholarship Recipient
"I have been doing really well but I think I can do better."

Dr. Carol Babb- Chief Education Officer, MOE
"You have been blessed as there are many students who would like to further their education, but because of financial restraints, cannot do so. Students, please see these scholarship as a blessing and thank God and the Belize bank for the great opportunity. With this blessing of a scholarship, you can make the choice to use this opportunity to go to school, stay in school and work hard to get good grades."

The program began in 2012 where the Bank granted 25 scholarships for students enrolling in high school. But this scholarship program, according to the Chairman of Belize bank, is more than just a simple hand out.

Lyndon Guiseppi- Chairman, Belize Bank Ltd.
"Most scholarship programs would give you a tuition grant, book grant and leave it there. We believe that that is just the start that is just the tip of the iceberg. Even more important than that is to ensure that these kids have a resource base that they can rely upon. So against that background we have identified in each district, a manager or officer in the branch who will be available for each of these students in the event that they need social support, counseling, even in the event that they may need some financial support. The goal of the manager in the branch is to ensure that these kids are doing well in school, they are to follow up with the teachers and the parents to ensure that they excel in school. If they fall short, we will also provide the additional support in the form of tutors. If you're not doing well in a particular subject, we will provide that additional resource as well. Interestingly, yesterday I met with 2 students personally who continued to be in the program but we felt that they can do much better so I met with them and their parents just to warn them, read the riot act, to let them know that we don't expect them to get by, we expect them to excel."

And it might have been that same tenacity from the sponsors that saw a good success rate. 22 of the 25 students who joined the program at its inception have since graduated.

One of those past graduates is Angel Navidad. He, you can say, made the very best of this program- after all he is going to Harvard next month. Today he spoke to the scholarship recipients and encouraged them to set their standards high.

Angel Navidad- Going to Harvard, Past Scholarship Recipient
"Ask more of yourself, hold yourself to a higher standard, want to be better than you were yesterday. Improve yourself, take risks, do something that's genuinely hard, do something that you're passionate about even though it's so hard and even though you'll probably fail. If you fail it was worth it, if you succeed it was completely worth it. At the end of it all, you'll be stronger, smarter, kinder and more experienced than you were when you started. You'll have grown as a person and you'll only keep growing."

Reporting for 7 news Emanuel Pech.

Belize Bank has granted full scholarships to 83 students since the inception of the program in 2012.