Montserrat island "Santa María de Montserrate", after the Virgin of Montserrat in the Monastery of Montserrat, on Montserrat mountain, near Barcelona in Catalonia, Spain. "Montserrat" means "serrated mountain" in Catalan. Archaeological field work in 2012, in Montserrat's Centre Hills indicated there was an Archaic (pre-Arawak) occupation between 4000 and 2500 BP. Later coastal sites show the presence of the Saladoid culture. In November 1493, Christopher Columbus passed Montserrat in his second voyage, after being told that the island was unoccupied due to raids by the Caribs. A number of Irishmen settled in Montserrat in 1632. The preponderance of Irish in the
Montserrat Secondary School which students may be admitted. A May 2011 Montserrat government report stated that the school "produced excellent results and enjoyed national esteem" in that time. Wealthier families were the main clientele of MSS. There were 64 students in 1941. In 1955 its senior/modern school opened. In 1971 its junior school opened. The May 2011 government report stated that these new divisions "did not substantially alter the elitist nature of the school." The school has multiple locations before settling in Salem. In 1986 secondary education became universal in Montserrat, and the report stated this, as well as the 1997 Soufrière Hills