New Classrooms for Holy Trinity High

Four hundred new classroom spaces have been added to the Holy Trinity High School, in Kingston, at a cost of $35.5 million.

The new classroom block, comprising eight classrooms and named in honour of the late Archbishop Samuel Carter, was handed over during a ceremony at the school, on George Headley Drive, Kingston 4, on Thursday, February 13.

Construction was undertaken as part of the Ministry of Education’s thrust to remove schools from the shift system. Holy Trinity was removed from the shift system at the beginning of the new school year in September 2013.

Addressing the ceremony, Minister of Education, Rev. the Hon. Ronald Thwaites, urged the students to make use of the facilities being provided for their education.

“I say to each one of you that it is now your responsibility to make sure that you study hard, because if you don’t, you will be left behind,” Rev. Thwaites said.

He added that by 2016, no student at Holy Trinity High School or in Jamaica should leave the education system without a certificate in English, Mathematics and at least one marketable skill.

“We want you to get work as we don’t want you to stand on the street corner after your experience here. So start now, as the tools are available to you,” the Minister urged.

Chairman of the National Education Trust (NET), Mr. Courtney Campbell, said Holy Trinity High was originally built to accommodate 800 students, but currently has an enrolment of 1,345 students.

“The eight classrooms will provide an estimated 400 additional spaces and increase the capacity of the school to 1,200,”  he noted.

Mr. Campbell said the NET is exploring a range of strategies to satisfy the space requirements in the education sector, through a diverse programme involving the construction of additional classrooms using alternative building systems and the retrofitting and renovation of existing facilities.

He pointed out that the Ministry intends to eliminate the shift system from the education sector by 2020.

For her part, Principal of the Holy Trinity High School, Mrs. Margaret Brissett- Bolt, expressed appreciation for the new block, on behalf of the Board, students and staff.

“We are aware of our challenges, but we are grateful that we have a willing and capable staff. We are still slowly adapting to the changes and transformation. We look forward to better days ahead when Holy Trinity High School will become the beacon, a shining star in Central Kingston and a school of choice,” she said.

A science laboratory, which was refurbished in partnership with the Kiwanis Club of East Kingston, was also handed over.