BASSETERRE, St. Kitts — More than a year after breaking ground, the ambitious reconstruction of the Joshua Obadiah Williams Primary School in Molineux is moving toward completion, with government officials planning to welcome students to the upgraded facility at the start of the January 2027 academic term. All on-site construction work is on track to be finished by October 2026, according to updates from local public works authorities.
The EC$8 million transformation project is being delivered by three construction firms working in parallel across different zones of the campus, keeping the build on schedule after 11 and a half months of steady progress. What was originally planned as a simple replacement of the aging original structure has evolved into a comprehensive expansion and modernization initiative that will serve both the school population and the entire surrounding Molineux community.
Structural Engineer Jared Joseph shared project details during a recent press briefing, noting that the project team made a deliberate decision to go far beyond replicating the old school’s footprint. “It would have been straightforward to rebuild to the same dimensions and specifications we had before,” Joseph explained. “Instead, the Public Works Department opted to design a cutting-edge educational facility focused on lifting quality of life for students, staff and the whole neighborhood.”
The scale of the upgrade is dramatic: the original 8,400-square-foot school has been expanded to roughly 25,500 square feet, tripling the total usable space of the campus. Every section of the facility has been reimagined to address longstanding gaps in the old building. Classrooms for students are now 50% larger than they were in the previous structure, providing more room for interactive learning and student movement. The new campus also features upgraded science laboratories, a dedicated student library, expanded faculty workspaces, private restrooms for teaching staff, and dedicated amenities for employees, including a larger staff lounge, a designated lunch area, and extra open spaces for relaxation and collaborative planning.
One of the most community-focused additions to the campus is a new multi-purpose auditorium, a flexible space designed to meet multiple needs across different contexts. “The first role this space will fill is hosting the school’s assemblies, plays and student performances,” Joseph said. “But for local residents, it will operate as a public community center, and in emergency situations, it is engineered to serve as a certified hurricane shelter.”
To support reliable operation during crises, the school is also outfitted with a large capacity cistern for water storage and a full-size backup generator, ensuring the facility remains functional during power outages or disruptions to public utilities, a critical feature for both daily operations and its emergency shelter role.
Joseph emphasized that the project’s impact will extend far beyond the school gates. “We’re confident this development will deliver lasting benefits not just to teachers and students, but to the entire community,” he said. “We hope this model of inclusive, multi-purpose public infrastructure will be replicated in other districts across the country in coming years.”
With structural work largely complete, the project is now moving into the final phase of fixture installation and interior finishing, all scheduled for completion by October. Government project leads confirmed that the timeline remains on track, and they are looking forward to welcoming the first cohort of students to the new facility when the January academic term begins.