During a recent appearance on the popular local Browne and Browne radio talk show, Antigua and Barbuda’s Minister of Education Daryll Matthew shared exclusive new details about the under-construction Five Islands Primary School, framing the upcoming institution as a transformative landmark for primary education across the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).
Matthew confirmed that construction work on the campus is advancing at a steady pace, with the entire facility engineered to meet strict climate-resilient design standards that will safeguard learning spaces against the region’s frequent extreme weather events, including tropical storms and heavy rainfall. A standout dedicated, purpose-built science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) lab will form the core of the school’s learning infrastructure, purpose-built to support hands-on, tech-integrated learning experiences that go far beyond traditional primary school curricula.
One of the most innovative and defining features of the new campus, Matthew emphasized, is its formalized collaborative partnership with the immediately adjacent University of the West Indies (UWI) Five Islands campus. The primary school will be directly linked to two key UWI departments: the university’s renowned teacher training programme, and its cutting-edge School of Computing and Artificial Intelligence. While the education minister did not release a full, detailed breakdown of the specific joint activities, student exchanges, or co-developed lesson plans that will roll out under the partnership, he noted that these cross-institutional ties were a central priority in the school’s overall development blueprint.
Matthew explained that the new, upgraded facilities are intentionally designed to amplify and build on the already strong track record of academic achievement that the Five Islands Primary School community has established in recent years. He expressed unwavering confidence that the institution will evolve into a replicable, best-practice model for primary education across the entire OECS sub-region.
The minister’s update was delivered as part of a wider public conversation focused on the ongoing expansion of the UWI Five Islands campus and associated public infrastructure upgrades planned for the surrounding Five Islands community. Notably, Matthew did not share a concrete construction completion timeline or official public opening date for the new primary school during his broadcast remarks.
New Five Islands Primary School to include STEM lab and UWI partnerships
