New $1B Westminster Secondary School officially open

…to house 1000 students

The state-of-the-art Westminster Secondary School on Monday opened its doors for the first time for classroom activity since the facility was completed back in April.
After being prepped for the new school year, the Education Ministry shared that the newly-built school, located at La Parfaite Harmonie on the West Bank of Demerara, would finally be able to accommodate students.
It has capacity for 1000 students, and “will take Guyana closer to achieving universal secondary education”. Being one of six potential schools that were touted by the former PPP/C Government back in 2013, the number was reduced to three – Westminster Secondary School, Good Hope Secondary School and Prospect Secondary School.

For the first day of classroom activities, students and teachers turned up at the new facility, where COVID-19 guidelines were instituted. The design also included handwashing stations and other facilities to keep students safe during learning sessions.
The contract to build the Westminster Secondary School was awarded to R Bassoo and Sons. Construction began in October 2018 and was scheduled to be completed in January 2020.
On assuming office in August 2020, Education Minister Priya Manickchand had stressed Government’s zero tolerance for delayed works, and warned contractors to ensure that work was done within the contractual time. She said the Ministry had worked closely with the contractor and the consulting firm to ensure the school was completed.
The total cost of the school is approximately $1 billion, and was funded by the World Bank through the Guyana Secondary Education Improvement Project (GSEIP).
The Westminster Secondary School has 32 classrooms; a language lab; dance studio; library; Physics, Chemistry and Biology laboratories; an Information Technology Laboratory; a theatre room; a Mathematics Laboratory; Home Economics Laboratory and an Agriculture Science Laboratory, among other facilities built to provide the best education to the nation’s children.
It will accommodate 1000 students, and will therefore be a Grade A school. For now, it will be categorised as a List B school, which speaks to quality, but that status will change over the next two years. The Ministry also intends to make the school a Sixth Form school to offer the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations (CAPE).
The school, together with a dormitory to be built at Leonora, will allow the Ministry to close all Primary Tops in Region Three.
Meanwhile, the Good Hope Secondary School would allow for the closure of Primary Tops on the East Coast of Demerara. (G12)