Barbados’ Ministry of Education has announced a major, year-long infrastructure upgrade project that will require relocating students from four primary schools for the 2026–2027 academic year, while wrapping up a separate round of facility improvements ahead of the upcoming 2024 school term starting Monday. Minister of Education Transformation Chad Blackman confirmed the long-term plans during a Friday press conference, noting that the relocation decision follows routine summer facility inspections carried out as part of the ministry’s ongoing nationwide school infrastructure improvement program.
Blackman named the four affected campuses as Good Shepherd Primary, Saint Paul’s Primary, Milton Lynch Primary and Eagle Hall Primary. Chief Education Officer Dr. Ramona Archer-Bradshaw outlined the detailed temporary placement plan for all impacted students: At Good Shepherd, nursery through Infants B students will move to Eden Lodge Primary; Classes 1 and 2 will hold classes at Trent’s Resource Centre, and Classes 3 and 4 will relocate to the John the Baptist Church. All students from Eagle Hall Primary will be temporarily hosted at Lawrence T. Gay Primary School.
For Saint Paul’s Primary, Reception and Class 1 students will attend classes at Bay Primary, while students in Grades 2 through 4 will move to Luther Thorne Primary. At Milton Lynch Primary, Reception through Class 1 students will be hosted at St Christopher Primary, and older students in Grades 2 through 4 will take classes at St Dominic’s Roman Catholic Church.
Officials emphasized that the multi-million dollar upgrades are designed to transform the four schools into safer, more modern, inclusive and climate-resilient learning facilities. A public statement from the ministry outlined the full scope of planned works, which includes full roof replacement and structural repairs, upgrades to structural steel frameworks, the addition of new emergency exit staircases, installation of accessible, gender-inclusive restroom facilities, construction of covered outdoor learning spaces, new security guard posts, purpose-built classrooms for inclusive education programs, overhauls of outdated electrical and plumbing systems, replacement of old windows and doors, full interior and exterior repainting, improvements to school grounds and athletic fields, installation of new large-capacity water storage tanks, and structural upgrades to bring the campuses into full compliance with Category 1 hurricane shelter standards.
Alongside the long-term 2026–2027 project, the ministry is currently putting finishing touches on a separate round of upgrades for 13 schools, scheduled for completion ahead of the new school term starting this Monday. The 13 schools included in this summer’s immediate upgrade cycle are 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’ Primary, Hillaby Turners Hall Primary, St George Primary, Grantley Prescod Memorial Primary and Deacons Primary.
A Barbados TODAY on-site inspection Friday found campuses across the island already preparing for student arrival. School staff were documented deep-cleaning kitchen appliances, sanitizing classroom furniture, pressure-washing exterior walkways and restocking classroom supplies, while construction teams conducted final safety inspections and walkthroughs to confirm all works meet regulatory standards.
Specific on-site checks confirmed that repainting and kitchen upgrades at Blackman and Gollop Primary are fully complete. At St George Primary, the full roof replacement project has been finished, along with a full renovation and repainting of the school assembly hall. Grantley Prescod Memorial Primary has completed a full building repaint, replacement of damaged hall and corridor ceilings, and construction of a new auxiliary wing to host students from the Wilkie Cumberbatch Infants Department. At Deacons Primary, workers have applied a fresh coat of paint across the campus, and finished replacing the roof and windows on the school’s east wing.