St James to get performing-arts school

Persons in western Jamaica with performing-arts skills will soon get a new platform to showcase them. According to Education Minister Ruel Reid, the Government will be breaking ground for a J$1-billion performing-arts high school in St James early in the 2019-2020 academic year.

"It will bring all the other elements of the academic, but it has a focus where you can actually learn so many things but also use it as career development," he said. "It is also a life skill because you have professionals that become performing artistes."

EDUCATIONAL TRANSFORMATION

Reid said that the new school will cater to a student population of approximately 1,200.

"We want to go up to seven years, so we are looking at seven classrooms per year group, so that will take it to 50 classrooms or thereabouts," he said.

The location of the school is yet to be determined as the Government has two sites under consideration.

"There is a space at Ironshore, or it could be on lands near Cornwall College," said Reid. "We were hoping we could have broken ground this financial year, but it can't be until next year because we are doing the whole educational transformation system and then moving to the next phase."