Students at the Lawrence T. Gay Memorial School are being shifted to three sites until the end of the Michaelmas Term.
A release from the Ministry of Education, Technological and Vocational Training (METVT) said classes would now be relocated from Spooner’s Hill, St Michael, “as a result of a reported offensive odour” to the nearby Grace Hill Moravian Church; The Church of Christ the King, at Rock Dundo, St Michael; and Sharon Moravian Church at Sharon, St Thomas.
The relocation of classes occurred on Wednesday, but teachers prepared the new facilities on Monday and Tuesday when the children were at home.
Last Friday, the Ministry met with the Barbados Union of Teachers (BUT) to discuss the concerns expressed by those teachers who had been reportedly affected, the release added.
“On Sunday, November 6, the Ministry met with parents and guardians to inform them about the outcome of the meeting with the BUT and about the imminent relocation of some classes to the three sites. All parents/guardians had been notified of the meeting via the regular channels of communication for matters concerning the school.”
The Ministry thanked the staff, parents/guardians and students for their understanding and patience and said in conjunction with the Ministries of Health, Labour and Agriculture, as well as the Environmental Protection Department, and its private sector partners, would continue investigations on the compound of the school and its immediate environs.
Teachers reported smelling the offensive odour on October 31. The environmental problems have been plaguing the school for some time. (PR/SAT)