One of the nation’s oldest secondary education institutions, the Princess Margaret School, wants help from the government to carry out much needed upgrades as it celebrates its 70th anniversary in April.
Members of the PMS Alumni Association, together with the Principal, Dr. Colin Greene, visited the Cabinet on Wednesday to make a direct appeal to the top executive body in the country.
They reported several important facts; the school was founded 70 years ago on April 26 1955 and was formerly opened by the late Princess Margaret, a member of the British Royal Family. Secondly, PMS Antigua is one of four schools worldwide that carry the name Princess Margaret School. One is located in Canada, one in London and the other in Barbados. The association said there are no plans to rename the school. The PMS is well known for its prowess in sports and CXC regional exams.
The association wants the government to assist with several of its short and medium term goals for the school. Chief among which is the need to give the school a facelift for the anniversary celebrations. This would include repainting of the buildings in a single colour
The other areas of concern are refurbishment of the buildings, the industrial training center, the playing field, and to fence it properly. The cost is likely to exceed a half-million dollars; no specific dates and timelines have been proposed for the commencement of these projects.
The medium to long-term plans include upgrading the assembly hall, built to accommodate 250 students maximum; today, the student body is now made up of 955 youth; to turn the field into a multipurpose sporting area used by other schools and community groups as well as the provision of permanent parking for staff.
The Cabinet is said to have promised to do all that it can to support the effort, with the guaranteed support of the Chairman of Cabinet, Prime Minister Gaston Browne, and the Minister of Health, Sir Molwyn Joseph, both of whom are PMS alumni.
