Work on the new Five Islands Primary School is expected to commence shortly.

This is according to Cabinet Spokesperson Maurice Merchant when asked about an update following the groundbreaking of the new education facility.

“Work has commenced there at the Five Islands Primary School. The contractor has been mobilized and is mobilizing.

If you journey in that vicinity, you would see that a number of heavy-duty items or vehicles are on site and ready to go, so, they are mobilizing and getting ready to start. I’m sure that within two to three weeks you should see some activity there,” Merchant said.

The groundbreaking took place in January of this year.

The new school is part of the expansion project for the UWI Five Islands Campus funded by the Saudi Arabia Development.

The current site of the primary school is set to be demolished to facilitate this shift, making way for the anticipated US$80 million expansion which promises new dormitories, classrooms, lecture theaters, and sporting facilities.

The new climate resilient primary school will feature nineteen (19) classrooms, soft spaces for kindergarten and preschool, an emergency/sick bay station, counselling spaces, a library, an IT Laboratory, a modern catering kitchen, age designated bathroom facilities, faculty lounges and an upper balcony.  

It will sit on 10 acres of land in the Five Islands Village and is designed to accommodate 600 students.