Bishop’s College Kingstown gets science Laboratory

A science laboratory at the Bishop’s College Kingstown is now a reality.

The facility was officially opened on Tuesday, January 5, and is the result of twelve years of work, which began in 1998.{{more}}

The $55,000 facility is incomplete as it still needs to be equipped, but the vision is clear as the institution turns over a new leaf in its development and history.

“The lab was built to create the opportunity for students to have a practical application of the theory that is being learnt in the classroom,” Cecelia Akers-King, principal of the school, said at the opening ceremony.

She added that this meant students wanting to pursue a career in the science field no longer needed to transfer to another school, something which took place in the past.

However, the process of the school having its own science facility was so fraught with difficulty, many believed the lab would never become a reality.

As King outlined the process, she identified the many private persons, donor agencies and companies that assisted with the project.

Credit was particularly given to immediate Past Chairman of the Board of Governors, Reverend Dr Sylvanus Regisford.

According to King, it was Regisford’s persistence and ‘get up and go’ attitude that attracted the additional financial resources needed to start the project.

Regisford said that it was one of the most challenging but important projects he undertook during his tenure as chairman.

The laboratory has a carrying capacity of up to 40 students and will function as an Integrated Science laboratory, incorporating equipment and apparatus for all the sciences, including Chemistry and Physics.

Dana Matthias, science teacher at the school, noted that the relevant apparatus was going to be costly as the facility incorporated all aspects of the natural sciences.

She added that the period before the school actually began churning out science students was going to be a process, with the first step being to get students accustomed to the lab setting.

“It has to be a slow process and one of integration,” she told SEARCHLIGHT.

Matthias did express her contentment in seeing the opening of the facility.

She included the importance of the practical approach to the teaching of science that the lab now provides.

“I am happy the students now get to do practical applications to the teaching,” said Matthias.

“It is difficult to explain concepts. You can’t really get the message out-but once you can feel it, touch it and see it-that is science.”

Laura Browne, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, said that efforts were being made to ensure that every school was equipped with a science laboratory and that science related subjects are included in the core curriculum.

She pledged continued support to the school of her Ministry and assured students that the delivery of the curriculum is second to none, something she wished for all the other institutions throughout the island.

“For some we will have to worker harder than others,” she said.