Barracks Road Primary School gets new $30 million classroom block

A new $30-million grade-six block has been officially opened at the Barracks Road Primary School in Montego Bay, St James.

The new block features four classrooms, a resource centre, and bathroom facilities, which should provide a more comfortable learning environment for the students, who are preparing to sit the 2023 Grade Six Primary Exit Profile (PEP) examination.

The building, which opened on Wednesday, was funded under a public-private partnership to include the Ministry of Education and Youth, St James Municipal Corporation and 16 private businesses in Montego Bay.

In her address at the official handover ceremony, Director for Region Four, Ministry of Education and Youth, Dr Michelle Pinnock, lauded “our valued and valuable partners” for their contribution to education in the parish.

“We place on record our gratitude to all persons who have invested in education [because] education is a team sport,” said Pinnock.

“We say thanks to all our teachers, past and present students, our hard-working teachers and principals and our dedicated community members for the many sacrifices you have made over the years with this new building,” she added.

Pinnock indicated that the Ministry will be ensuring that the donations of school resources from their private partners are properly managed and utilised.

“[In fact], the Ministry will use this building and the other buildings at Barracks Road Primary to continue to teach executive functioning skills – the ones that will allow our students to focus, and filter all the distractions,” she said.

For her part, principal of Barracks Road Primary School, Maxine Coates-Brown, said that the new block is a welcome addition to the institution and its growing student population.

“Thank you for your commitment and support in ensuring that this vision has come to fruition. You have encouraged us in continuing to work in carrying out our motto which speaks to only the best is good enough,” Coates-Brown added.

Meanwhile, Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister (West), Homer Davis, argued that the investment that stakeholders have made in the construction of the block will take St. James and, by extension, Jamaica's education sector, to another level.

Davis said he is looking forward to more academic achievements from the school and challenged students, staff and parents to give their full support to the continued “success and prosperity” in the institution.

- JIS News

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