Barbados’ Ministry of Education Transformation has released its first official progress update on a sweeping national primary school refurbishment initiative, confirming that most upgrade projects are moving forward steadily after schools closed early for construction last month — but one major campus will see work extend into 2027 due to unexpected foundation challenges.
The multi-school improvement program forms the cornerstone of the government’s broader education transformation agenda, which aims to replace aging, outdated infrastructure across the island to create safer, more accessible, and modern learning spaces that meet the current needs of both students and teaching staff. When the initiative was first announced, authorities moved up the end of the school year by four weeks for 13 participating campuses, giving contractors an extended window to carry out disruptive construction work during the summer break, avoiding disruptions to future classes.
As of the latest update, most participating schools have hit key construction milestones, with several projects well past the halfway completion mark. At Grantley Prescod Primary School, overall refurbishment work is moving ahead rapidly: interior and exterior painting is 85% finished, while ceiling replacement across the campus is 70% complete. Nearby at Wesley Hall Primary School, progress is even further along, with the project hitting 80% completion. Upgrades at Wesley Hall include the addition of new internal classroom partitions in the campus’ single-story building, full replacement of aging roofing and ceilings in the two-story wing, and the construction of new external staircases designed to boost accessibility for students with mobility needs and improve overall campus safety.
St. George Primary School is also on track, with overall renovation work sitting at 70% completion. Contractors on site are currently focused on completing exterior painting and replacing old, worn roof sheeting across campus. Two schools, Blackman and Gollop Primary and St. James Primary, are both 40% finished with their respective upgrades. At Blackman and Gollop, painting and structural repairs are ongoing in one core classroom, while at St. James, repairs to the campus’ prefabricated classroom building are progressing as scheduled, with new flooring already installed in many areas.
The only outlier in the progress report is the refurbishment project at Wilkie Cumberbatch Primary School, which has hit unforeseen delays that will push final completion all the way to 2027. Wayne Baker, Director of the Education Technical Management Unit (ETMU), explained that contractors encountered unexpected geotechnical challenges during the initial foundation phase of the project, which is required to support new reinforced concrete structures for the campus’ expanded facilities. After consultations between project managers, government officials, and the contracted construction team, a revised safety-compliant work schedule was finalized.
“The contractors overseeing the critical foundation work have identified all solutions needed to address the challenges they encountered, and have submitted a revised timeline that guarantees the structure will be completed safely,” Baker said in an official statement. Once foundation work is finalized, the project will move into the main construction phase, which includes a raft of major upgrades for Wilkie Cumberbatch: new dedicated staff rooms, modernized restroom facilities, upgraded nutrition and food service rooms, a purpose-built information technology laboratory, and an expanded physical education department to support extracurricular programming.
Despite the delay at one campus, Ministry officials say they remain pleased with the overall pace and quality of work across all participating schools. In the update, the ministry commended contractors, project managers, school administration teams, and all other stakeholders for their cooperation to keep the program on track, noting that the early school closure has already helped create breathing room for construction teams to work through key phases without time pressure. The ministry also pledged to release regular public progress updates as projects move toward completion, reaffirming that the national school refurbishment initiative is a core part of the government’s long-term vision to deliver modern, sustainable, future-ready learning environments for every child across Barbados.
A full breakdown of current project completion rates is as follows: Grantley Prescod Primary at 85% complete, Wesley Hall Primary at 80% complete, St. George Primary at 70% complete, Blackman & Gollop Primary at 40% complete, St. James Primary at 40% complete, and Wilkie Cumberbatch Primary with a revised completion date of 2027.