分类： education

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program forms the cornerstone of the government’s broader education transformation agenda, which aims to replace aging, outdated infrastructure across the island to create safer, more accessible, and modern learning spaces that meet the current needs of both students and teaching staff.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.

Amidst an ongoing national debate over whether private primary schools in Barbados consistently outperform public institutions, educators from one standout public school are drawing a clear line: unfair contextual comparisons do a disservice to both sectors, and student success grows from a mix of engaged parent participation, dedicated educator work and accessible resources.

The conversation reignited earlier this month after the Barbados Union of Teachers (BUT) formally requested the Ministry of Education Transformation to release data explaining why private schools posted seemingly stronger results in this year’s Common Entrance Examination. Just days after that call, faculty and staff at St Philip’s Hilda Skeene Primary School celebrated their students’ exceptional performance during a graduation ceremony hosted at The Crane Resort, where they pushed back against direct cross-sector comparisons.

Hilda Skeene Primary’s 2024 exam results tell a compelling story: student Josiah Gibson secured second place across the entire island, earning a perfect 100% score in Mathematics, while several other classmates hit scores in the 90th percentile. For Kara Allsopp, a Class Four teacher at the school, these achievements are more than just individual wins—they prove public school students can compete at the highest academic level when schools and families collaborate effectively.

“Once parents get involved, we have public school students that can perform just as well, if not better, than their peers in private schools,” Allsopp explained during the ceremony. She attributed this year’s success to consistent family buy-in: parents prioritized their children’s learning, committed to extra support, and even arranged for students to attend extra study sessions on school holidays. The real driver of strong outcomes, she added, is not institutional status but intrinsic motivation. “We worked for months toward these exams. The children gave up their free time on bank holidays to come in and practice. That motivation is the actual secret to success. My job as an educator is first and foremost to spark that desire to do well—once that clicks, students will rise to the challenge.”

Principal Wayne Bryan echoed Allsopp’s rejection of direct public-private comparisons, noting the two sectors operate under fundamentally different conditions that make head-to-head ranking meaningless. “Comparing public schools to private schools is comparing apples to oranges,” Bryan said. “There are dozens of variables that shape how each sector operates, from the student populations they serve to how they are managed and staffed. They both provide a core public good, but they operate in totally separate contexts.”

Even as he celebrated his students’ wins, Bryan did not shy away from naming the persistent structural challenges holding many public schools back: limited funding and a widespread lack of adequate material, human and financial resources. “You can have the highest goals and biggest dreams for your students, but without the right resources, reaching those goals becomes far harder,” he noted. For many public school principals, the burden of funding gaps pulls focus away from core educational leadership: Bryan himself spends significant time lobbying private sector partners and organizing parent-led fundraising campaigns to cover gaps in public funding.

Looking ahead, Bryan called for broader cross-sector collaboration to lift public education outcomes across the country, arguing that private sector investment in public schools is an investment in Barbados’ future workforce. “The next generation of employees, leaders and innovators for Barbados’ private businesses come from our public schools. If business leaders want a strong workforce down the line, they need to invest today. Improving public education is not a job for one group—it takes all of us working together to deliver the outcomes our children deserve.”

Eleven-year-old Jeremi Wright, a graduating student from St Cyprian’s Boys’ School, has closed out his primary education on a historic high note, securing a perfect score in mathematics and an acceptance to his first-choice institution: Harrison College.

The young achiever received his Barbados Secondary Schools’ Entrance Examination results this Monday, and he said he could not contain his joy when he saw he had claimed a place at the campus he had set his sights on months earlier. “I felt excited that I would be going to my first choice,” Jeremi shared.

As a Class Four student who spent months gearing up for the high-stakes entrance exam, he entered the test center feeling grounded and prepared. Months of consistent practice, including nearly daily practice exams, left him confident that the official test would feel familiar. “I was confident knowing that I did exams almost every day that it would basically be the same thing,” he explained. Beyond his regular school coursework, Jeremi also committed to two extra tutoring sessions each week – a commitment he admitted was not always easy, since “I wanted to stay home, though.”

His mother, Shamelia Wright, says she never felt overwhelming stress during Jeremi’s exam preparation period, because her son has always been a consistently dedicated learner. “It was not nerve-wracking or anything like that. He is generally a good student,” she noted. Shamelia credited St Cyprian’s structured preparation program and frequent regular testing, particularly in mathematics, as key contributors to her son’s standout performance.

Even as he prioritized exam preparation, Jeremi never stepped back from his extracurricular passion: badminton. He remained an active member of both the Attackk Badminton Club and the country’s national youth badminton team. When asked how Jeremi managed to balance the heavy academic load and his sports commitments, Shamelia explained the family’s simple, effective rule: “Homework first, sports after.”

The perfect mathematics score came as an unexpected, joyful surprise for the entire family. “I was happy because I was happy for him. He got to the school he wanted to go to. He’s going to Harrison College,” Shamelia said. “I was shocked because he got 100 in math.”

A pre-examination campus tour of Harrison College played a key role in solidifying Jeremi’s desire to attend the institution. When asked about the visit, Jeremi said the sheer scale of the campus left a lasting positive impression: “I was surprised at the size.” That visit confirmed for the young student that Harrison College was where he wanted to continue his education, a feeling he shared clearly with his mother.

Jeremi’s father, Jared Wright, shares his wife’s pride in his son’s achievement, but he is quick to emphasize that all credit belongs to Jeremi himself. “I can’t take any of the credit from Jeremi,” Jared said. “He’s a child that knows what he wants and is willing to put in the work to go after what he wants. My job was just really in helping him remember who he was and what he was capable of.” While the 11-year-old’s perfect score was a surprise, Jared says the strong result was not out of line with what he knows his son can achieve. “I wasn’t surprised. I was very, very happy,” he said. “I know what my son is capable of.” The family celebrated the milestone with a special dinner at Jeremi’s favorite restaurant.

At St Cyprian’s Boys’ School, deputy principal and Jeremi’s Class Four teacher Kevin Hurdle said school staff went into results day quietly confident that this cohort of students would deliver strong performance. “We were quietly confident that our boys would perform at a high level,” Hurdle shared. “Not only were they well prepared, this particular year group was one that has been monitored for a number of years producing a very high standard of results.”

Hurdle explained that the school uses a tailored, multi-tiered preparation strategy for the entrance examination, blending traditional instruction methods with modern multimedia resources and engaging learning activities designed specifically to meet the learning needs of boys. He said the staff was overjoyed by the results, particularly Jeremi’s historic achievement. “I was elated,” he said. “Very proud to be part of the process whereby these boys can begin to show the potential that they have academically.”

Hurdle also highlighted that most students in Jeremi’s graduating class balanced their academic preparation with participation in school sports teams. This ability to juggle multiple commitments, he said, is a promising sign for the students’ long-term success. “The fact that our boys could show that they could balance these things along with their academics, I think, bodes very well for the future,” he added.

As Jeremi prepares to start classes at Harrison College in the upcoming academic year, his parents are sharing guidance with other families who will soon navigate the entrance examination process, urging caregivers to prioritize encouragement over high pressure. “Do not pressure the children,” Shamelia advised. “They will do what they need to do. Just encourage them.”

J echoed his wife’s perspective, encouraging parents to trust their children’s abilities. “Remember who your children are and help them remember who they are and what they’re capable of,” he said. “Children are resilient. They’re amazing, and they have capabilities beyond what we often give them credit for.”