Students from four schools will be relocated for the new school year while the Ministry of Education carries out major infrastructure upgrades from September 2026 to August 2027.
This was revealed by Minister of Education Transformation Chad Blackman on Friday during a press conference.
He explained that as the ministry continues its year-round infrastructure programme, education officials have been inspecting schools over the summer to determine whether they are ready.
Blackman listed Good Shepherd, Saint Paul’s Primary, Milton Lynch and Eagle Hall as the four schools where students will be relocated.
Chief Education Officer Dr Ramona Archer-Bradshaw explained how students from these schools will be assigned to different locations.
At Good Shepherd, nursery to Infants B students will attend Eden Lodge, while Classes One and Two will be based at Trent’s Resource Centre, and Classes Three and Four at the John the Baptist Church.
At Eagle Hall Primary, all students will be going to Lawrence T. Gay Primary School.
New building at Grantley Prescod to accommodate Wilkie Cumberbatch Infants classes (LG)
Blackman and Gollop freshly painted (LG)
For St Paul’s Primary, Reception and Class One students will attend Bay Primary, while Classes Two, Three and Four will be based at Luther Thorne.
Students in Reception to Class one at Milton Lynch will attend St Christopher Primary, while Classes Two to Four will have classes at St Dominic’s Roman Catholic Church.
The ministry says the affected schools will receive major upgrades to make them safer, more modern, inclusive and resilient.
“These will include roof replacement and repairs, structural and steelwork upgrades, installation of new emergency stairs, accessible and inclusive bathroom facilities, covered outdoor spaces, new guard facilities, dedicated inclusive education classrooms, electrical and plumbing upgrades, upgraded windows and doors, painting and improvements to school grounds, installation of new water tanks; and upgrades to support Category 1 hurricane-shelter compliance,” a release said.
The infrastructure programme comes as the ministry also works to complete upgrades at a number of schools ahead of the new academic year.
In June, the ministry also released a list of 13 schools where works were scheduled for completion before the start of the new school year.
They were Blackman and Gollop Primary, A. DaCosta Edwards Primary, All Saints Primary, Roland Edwards Primary, St James Primary, St Stephen’s Primary, Hilda Skeene Primary, Bayley’s Primary, Christ Church Girls’, Hillaby Turners Hall Primary, St George Primary, Grantley Prescod Memorial Primary and Deacons Primary.
Barbados TODAY visited several of the schools on Friday to gauge their level of readiness ahead of students returning to the classroom on Monday.
Staff were seen cleaning appliances, wiping down furniture, power washing, and stocking up, even as construction officials were on scene doing final checks and inquiries to ensure everything was in place.
At Blackman and Gollop Primary, painting and kitchen work had been completed, while over at St George Primary, the roof had been replaced and the school hall renovated and painted.
Painting of the entire Grantley Prescod Memorial Primary School was completed, while the ceiling in the hall and along the corridors was replaced. An additional structure was also built to accommodate students from the Wilkie Cumberbatch Infants Department.
A fresh coat of paint was also applied at Deacons Primary, along with the replacement of the roof and windows on the school’s east wing. (LG)
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