ESHS overcrowded | Premier urges new school campuses
Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley said the Elmore Stoutt High School (ESHS) is too crowded and vowed to press ahead with new senior school capacity, arguing that smaller, closer-to-home satellite campuses will ease pressure on students and staff.
“The Elmore Stoutt High School is too crowded,” he stated. “The crowding also contributes to the problem as well in terms of managing the amount of students, you know, challenges with different groups who get into conflict with each other.”
Dr Wheatley said the government will move forward with additional senior school facilities in the eastern and western districts to reduce congestion and improve management. “[When] you have a smaller group to manage, you can manage them more effectively, more efficiently,” he explained.
He linked this proposed school expansion to wider community benefits, noting that shorter commutes can cut costs for families and limit other problems. “I do think having junior high school in the east and the west is extremely important… And this administration is going to go ahead and do it,” he stated.
The Premier’s comments come amid continued debate about space and student behaviour at the territory’s largest secondary school. ESHS reopened new classroom blocks in January 2023 as part of a multi-year rebuild after the 2017 hurricanes, yet strains have persisted. In recent months, officials also highlighted interventions at ESHS and teacher training to manage student behaviour, underscoring pressure on the campus.
Calls to add senior-level capacity are not new. As Education Minister in 2021, Dr Wheatley flagged plans for more junior high schools across the territory, saying, “We need more schools.” Those plans envisioned campuses outside Road Town to distribute enrolment and reduce crowding at ESHS.
Dr Wheatley also tied investment in schools to crime-prevention goals, repeating that positive activities and strong support systems help young people. “If you invest in people, that’s a great strategy to reduce crime. Invest in their education. Invest in their character,” he argued.
No detailed timeline or sites were announced during the programme, but the Premier said the administration intends to proceed. The Ministry of Education has separately been updating curriculum and campus programmes, and the government has framed education as a priority in upcoming budgets.
Premier Wheatley said the aim is to give students safer, less crowded spaces to learn. “Persons going to school closer to where they live… [is] going to ease congestion,” he explained.
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The Premier Natalio Wheatley will be credited as the worse education minister in this country and we gave him a promotion to become the worse Premier in the country. We had Ralph O’Neal, Orlando Smith, Andrew Fahie and Natalio Wheatley. Take away what Andrew did, Natalio Wheatley is by far the worst of those 4 Premiers.
Why do we get it wrong so often -2 mistakes in the comment above. Shameful indeed!
By noon ESHS has no drinking water but because Elections coming up, he planning to do this and that to try to fool the voters he fooled before.
That is a lie….
My Daughter is 35 yrs old.
She did her Secondary schooling at that same School and we were promised that same proposal…Let’s see , if this old plan …will eventually takes place .
Only now we notice?….the record shows there has been very limited political interest in education for decades….all parties…and many of those who do manage to prevail in the educational system here and go onto college don’t return.
The Prison has been overcrowded for too long. Criminals remain loose and our lives and property are in constant threats…known criminals are not apprehended,as there is nowhere to pen them up.
Urgency should be the coralling of these loose human threats to the population.
Build 2 prisons ASAP…one for the current prison overflow
and one for those of current school age with destination Prison and in addition,for the industry,the constant and guaranteed
imports from the guaranteed source(s) of the Caribbean Island chain.
BVI is a jokey place on its way to Catastrophe via Hypocrisy.
It seems you want to feed us nothing but “word salad,” while using our taxpayers’ money to travel the world, stay at the Burj Al Arab in Dubai, and dine on the finest cuisine. But word salad doesn’t put food on our tables.
It seems you’re trying to sell us another “word salad” about ESHS East and West, Prospect Reef, and airport development. But the people of this country aren’t fooled. You realize we’re on to you—and that even those in your own district have lost faith in you—so now you’re trying to shift attention away from the enormous pay hike that you and other elected officials awarded yourselves.
All you ever talk about is cleaning up sewage in the 7th District. Is that really all you think your constituents deserve? A sewage cleanup and a pantry handout consisting of a can of tuna and two sardines—funded not from your own pocket, but by responsible and respectful members of the community.
You came to the people of your district begging for a chance, portraying yourself as a man of the people—another Noel Lloyd—when in reality, you’ve shown yourself to be more like a dictator once given power. The people believed you understood their struggles because you once walked in their shoes as a poor man. Remember those days? Now they see the truth.
Your constituents despise what you’ve become. You said it yourself—they look at you with disgust. That was before Carnival in August, yet you still went ahead without shame and approved a massive salary increase for yourself. To hell with the people, right?
You’ve used the people to enrich yourself, and when they turn to you with their problems, you treat them like they don’t matter. But no more. The people will not be fooled again.
We don’t want independence under your leadership. We want leaders who care—leaders who will lift us up, not keep us down. We want decent lives, not lives of poverty, victimization, high taxes, and neglect. We want real social support, help for struggling businesses, and the ability to put food on our tables. We want quality healthcare like the politicians enjoy—not the broken NHI system you’ve left for the rest of us.
Lets take one step at a time.The New Althea scattlife school should be first priority.It’s over due.
While I support for Althea Scatliffe Peimary school that sbould be on the back burner. The high school is for those going into the workforce or tertiary education. This is more pressing than the primary school. If we are truly serious we would build two more high schools on Tortola one east ine west along with another trade school. There should also built another high school in VG. This will alleviate the stress from ESHS and BFEC
Long ago they use to send prisoners to Antigua maybe they need to start doing that again. Better yet send them Deadman’s Chest
Naw,not Antigua or Dead Man’s Chest. Please send them to the jails in St. Kitts, Guadeloupe, North Korea or lost their backside in a Russian colony jail.
Bet them bawl fu dem mamma.
Yes build two more high schools then fill them up with a new influx of expats do the same with prison and all other facilities. When would you understand what is really happening here or are you just interested in talking a good game until your political career is over you retire on a handsome pension and the problems are left for some other joker to juggle.
develop Hospitality, Marine and Financial Trade secondary schools here in the territory. This along with apprenticeship programmes will help students come into the workforce, ready to produce.
The ole curriculum is dead. Get our young people on the ground, in the field, off the streets. We are a nation of builders!
I definitely support this. We need more trade schools. Try to get the best possible programs,people will come from neighbouring islands to attend and our young people will have more options. Ensure all the technical programs are completed with a certification or two. Come on man… Get this thing going and start offering more for the your folks here… Only way they’re going to get good jobs here and overseas is if they are well trained and certified.
Start with removing the extra year. That could free up some space. Where is the study on the usefulness of it?
Stop letting in people with families into the territory. The country,s finances cannot afford more schools at this time. More schools will mean more teachers. Is the money available? Do we have the teachers? Already the system is failing for lack of our local teachers.
You know why its over crowded we have people from 104 countries here in the bvi.the country can only hold so much people.everybody and thier family coming here.when are they going to close the door of the ark we are over ruined.help the sinking ship
U need to let these people who come here to work send their children to private schools like what the whites do wid your sh.t. Stop being afraid to enforce policies and run the country for the best interest of your people.
U see any other Caribbean country building schools for other people.
THE WIGGED ONE FROM THE YELLO SITE HAS TAKEN OVER THIS SITE , WITH HIS RACIST NARCISSISTIC MENTALITY BLOGGINS USING DIFFERENT NAMES AS USUAL , THIS HIPPO JUST LOVE TO BE IN THE SPOTLIGHT .
So they didn’t know it would have been over crowded when they decided to building new buildings there just a few years ago? And would you all please stop saying that rebuilding Althea is a high priority? The people pushing for that school to be rebuilt are doing it for sentimental value. Others want it so that they can have their children close to their place of work. Most of the children who went to that school were not from the town area. Please, let’s not waste this opportunity to prevent further over crowding and traffic congestion in the area. Remember I told you all so.
@Extra year, Mey, Nail Head, Hmm…well said.
A native Virgin Islander!
back then while growing up when a expat bring their child here they must attend private school. our free education suppose to be for children that was born here, i dont have a problem with expats , but all of sudden u see expats bring their niece nephew children here to attend school while our very own cant get a good space in school . way to much expats children taking up space at our school since swande is in control . fix it
Number of Children. Amount of Money.