Education Update

Government High Schools Forge Ahead

When Year 10 students from John Gray High School (JGHS) returned to classes on Thursday, 24 November, at the Agape Church, they were completing the re-opening of the island’s only government senior high school. Years 11 & 12 students from JGHS have already returned to the school site and a longer school day has been introduced to compensate for any missed classes. It is anticipated that all Year 10 students will be able to return to the school site by 1 February.

John Gray High School was very badly hit with up to 90% of its buildings damaged and it is likely that some will have to be demolished. Year 12 students, who are studying for external examinations, were the school’s first priority. Extensive initial work was undertaken, allowing them to return to school on Thursday, 21 October.

Following further work, Year 11 students, who are due to start external examination courses for next year, were able to return on Friday, 12 November. This was enabled by the generous offer from George Hicks to use nine rooms in their technology block. Year 11 examination course students were thus able to use the technical and home economics facilities.

Students and staff are working on an extended timetable to try and catch up on missed work, with a focus on examination subjects. Due to the nature of the Year 11 options systems, a similar shift system considered for other years was not practical.

Priority for the next stage of refurbishment will include the 21 Social Studies rooms, six Maths and English rooms, and some temporary repairs to the technology areas. In addition, 10 modular classrooms, which should be on site by January 2005, have been ordered for the school.

Due to the limited space and resources available, it has been impossible to accommodate the 350 Year 10 students on the school site. Alternative arrangements were made and from Thursday, 24 November, these students relocated to the Agape Church. All classrooms, offices, the youth centre and two areas in the main church sanctuary will be used as teaching spaces to accommodate half a school year at a time. A revised timetable has been written to ensure a broad and balanced curriculum.

George Hicks High School students returned to school beginning Thursday, 18 November. Despite extensive damage throughout the school site, 16 rooms have been restored to a safe and sanitized working state, accommodating one-year group per day.

By January, it is expected that 24 rooms will be available, allowing half the school to be present at one time. The numbers will allow a shift system operation, permitting all students to attend school daily for either a morning 8am – 12pm shift or an afternoon session from 12.30 – 4.30pm. The Education Department is exploring plans to provide further enrichment activities for students when they are not in school.

Temporary classrooms were considered as a potential solution for George Hicks but it was felt that these would create major health and safety issues. Students would be in close proximity to buildings under-going construction and the site could not cope with 1,000 students, in addition to the extensive construction work that is needed. Students would also have nowhere to go at break time and would lose their PE field.

Other sites for Learning Centres were considered but none were available to cope with the large number of students. School year at a time. A revised timetable has been written to ensure a broad and balanced curriculum.