The Minister for Education, Youth Affairs, and Sports, Honourable Sharie B. de Castro (AL), has announced that, starting in September, the ministry will implement several strategic upgrades to schools in the Ninth District to better accommodate students. Photo: GIS/File

The Minister for Education, Youth Affairs, and Sports, Honourable Sharie B. de Castro (AL), during the Ninth District town hall meeting held at St Mary’s Church Hall on Virgin Gorda on February 5, 2026. Photo: Facebook

This announcement was made during the Ninth District town hall meeting held at St Mary’s Church Hall on Virgin Gorda on February 5, 2026.

Minister de Castro stated that the ministry has secured special budget funding from last year, which allows for these strategic enhancements in schools in Virgin Gorda.

"We were able to prioritise and plan work in Virgin Gorda. We did remediation, we focused on air conditioning, coming out of meetings with the school, teachers and principals," Hon de Castro explained.

Upgrades to BFEC

She mentioned that upgrades have been completed at the Bregado Flax Educational Centre (BFEC) Secondary Division, marking it as the first secondary school in the area to be fully air-conditioned. Additionally, the sewerage system has been completely overhauled to address significant challenges.

The minister added that following meetings with the principal and leadership team to support schools, the ministry has strategically identified the work to be undertaken this year.

"One of the key areas is ensuring that we have vending stations, so that the students are able to safely be able to eat, and the lunch area that we'll designate with seating and so forth, we will be able to accommodate that."

'The funding is there'

Minister de Castro confirmed that both primary and secondary schools will receive upgrades, stating that some schools have asked for additional rooms and spaces. "We're projecting to see what we can do. But the funding is there, based on our timeline and potential public procurement, to be able to advance some significant plans for those 2 schools for the primary and the secondary level."

She also mentioned that specific upgrades are planned for schools in Anegada, including a culinary lab for Claudia Creque Educational Centre.

"We want to ensure that we do especially on the secondary level, create opportunities for learning at the secondary level that match industry. So, currently they do not have access to learning culinary so we are hoping this summer, we are seeking to operate a culinary lab for them so that we can introduce culinary at Anegada, given the industry that’s there."