Education Ministry Contributes to Rusea’s Redevelopment Project

Plans by the Rusea’s Old Students Association (ROSA) to spearhead major redevelopment and improvement work at their Hanover-based alma mater have been boosted with a $4 million contribution from the Ministry of Education and Youth.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Maria Jones, yesterday (June 25) presented the cheque to President of ROSA, Lloyd Tomlinson and Principal, June Thompson, at a ceremony held on the school grounds to mark the official re-opening of a refurbished science laboratory at the institution.
The refurbishing of the science laboratory, which was done through private sector assistance, forms part of the redevelopment plan of ROSA.
Mr. Tomlinson outlined the association’s improvement plan for the school, which he said, is estimated to cost some $100 million and is detailed in a document entitled ‘The Way Forward’.
The project, he said, entails the resuscitation of the old campus through restoration of the main building and the science block, construction of an auditorium and a canteen, and in the longer term, to add two blocks to resume boarding at the sixth form level. The contribution from the Education Ministry will go towards the refurbishing of the main building.
In addition, work will be undertaken on the new campus to improve infrastructure for teacher’s comfort, construction of an auditorium, provision of a block with three additional classrooms in addition to a block of 30 apartments for housing teachers.
“Also integral to our plan is providing assistance to our valiant and valuable teachers to improve the academic output of the students and towards this end, a school management programme has been initiated at the school through ROSA,” Mr. Tomlinson stated.
Chairman of the school’s Board of Governors, Denton Campbell, expressed the Board’s full endorsement of the improvement plans.
Rusea’s High School is the third oldest secondary institution in the island, celebrating 230 years of existence this year. The school has grown from a one campus to a two campus institution, with an enrollment of approximately 2,600 students.