Beautiful Virgin Islands

Wednesday, Aug 27, 2025

Refurbished BFEC School Handed Over

Refurbished BFEC School Handed Over

Deputy Premier and Minister for Education, Hon. Natalio 'Sowande' Wheatley said he is part of a government that cares about its people and has assured residents of Virgin Gorda (VG) that they are sensitive to their needs.

The Deputy Premier’s words were made during the handing over ceremony for the rehabilitated Bregado Flax Educational Centre Secondary Division (BFEC) on Friday, September 17, that was damaged during the 2017 hurricanes.

“Sister islands often feel forgotten, ignored, they feel like no one hears their cries, but I have to tell you, and I can say this from the bottom of my heart, I am a part of a government that cares. I am part of a government that cares, and I care.”

He continued: “And, when I talk about the government, I am not just talking about elected persons, I am talking about the Permanent Secretaries, I am talking about the Chief Education Officer, I am talking about everybody in the ministry, we care about you. We don’t want to see you suffering in inadequate conditions.”

His comments come following protest action on Jost Van Dyke only days earlier, where residents were demonstrating against the bad condition of the sole educational facility on the island that children and teachers were forced to utilize.

Since then, the minister, along with the Premier and other government officials, met with residents to chart a way forward, where remedial works would commence immediately, and school would resume on Monday September 20.

The Education Minister said further said that challenges must be solved by confronting them head-on.

“We faced the hurricanes, we faced COVID, we have challenging circumstances that we are confronting, but to solve those challenges, we are not going to solve them by shifting blame; we are not going to solve those challenges by off weight blame by us looking good, and somebody else looks bad. To confront these challenges, we have to stare them directly in the face we have to look at ourselves in the mirror to be willing to work harder," Hon. Wheatley said.

In the meantime, Ninth District Representative and Minister for Natural Resources, Labour and Immigration Hon. Vincent Wheatley said the reconstruction of the school “shows our commitment to the development of our country through our young people.”

“It is important that you know that you are now in one of the most sophisticated schools in the British Virgin Islands here at Bregado Flax, and it is only fitting that this edifice be here in the Ninth District because here is where the first capital was; so we have been leading for a long time, and it will not change anytime soon,” he added.

He further mentioned that the school has a top-notch solar system as well as modern learning tools such as promethium boards.
He continued: “It is a beautiful building, and I am going to ask you, students, please, please take care of this building. One of the things that I noticed when I was here was the students were fanning a lot; they say the rooms are quite hot. Well, I can assure you today that help is on the way; shortly we are going to start installing air conditioning (A.C.)’s in certain classrooms. They will not be done all at once, but we will be starting shortly, installing A.C.’s.”

He said four will be installed in the next two weeks.

Other Plans


The District Representative also highlighted other plans in store for the school.

“It is hoped that within the next few months, we will be breaking ground so we can give this campus the full use of a secondary school so we can bring more classes and more subjects into this campus and issue a brand new, much talked about primary school; that too is in the works.”

He said he has already spoken to his Permanent Secretary to get on with the land acquisition and “hopefully it will be done before this year is out so then we can say “yes we can now break ground”. The funding is already in place; the design is there, so we can move forward in short order. It has to happen, to have these two campuses here has been spoken about for a very long time and is time to stop the talk and get on with the action.”

Premier and Minister for Finance Hon. Andrew Fahie, who also delivered remarks, said, “Throughout the history of these Virgin Islands, no administration as a brand has focused more on its people than the Virgin Islands Party governments.”

He explained: “It was the VIP Government under the late, great Hon. Lavity Stoutt that championed education for our people by ensuring we had a robust secondary programme where all had access to secondary education, and later, he championed the building of the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College. It was the VIP Government under the leadership of R. T. O’Neal, that ensured that Bregado Flax Educational Centre, under the VIP came into existence and also the H.L. Stoutt Community Campus on Virgin Gorda.”

The rehabilitation works were partly funded by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), FLOW and UNITE BVI.

Construction works commenced in May 2020 when the $1.8 million contract was signed with Quality Construction.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Spotify’s Strange Move: The Feature Nobody Asked For – Returns
Manhunt in Australia: Armed Anti-Government Suspect Kills Police Officers Sent to Arrest Him
China Launches World’s Most Powerful Neutrino Detector
How Beijing-Linked Networks Shape Elections in New York City
Ukrainian Refugee Iryna Zarutska Fled War To US, Stabbed To Death
Elon Musk Sues Apple and OpenAI Over Alleged App Store Monopoly
2 Australian Police Shot Dead In Encounter In Rural Victoria State
Vietnam Evacuates Hundreds of Thousands as Typhoon Kajiki Strikes; China’s Sanya Shuts Down
UK Government Delays Decision on China’s Proposed London Embassy Amid Concerns Over Redacted Plans
A 150-Year Tradition to Be Abolished? Uproar Over the Popular Central Park Attraction
A new faith called Robotheism claims artificial intelligence isn’t just smart but actually God itself
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner Purchases Third Property Amid Housing Tax Reforms Debate
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Italian Facebook Group Sharing Intimate Images Without Consent Shut Down Amid Police Investigation
Dutch Foreign Minister Resigns Amid Deadlock Over Israel Sanctions
Trump and Allies Send Messages of Support to Ukraine on Independence Day Amid Ongoing Conflict
China Reels as Telegram Chat Group Shares Hidden-Camera Footage of Women and Children
Sam Nicoresti becomes first transgender comedian to win Edinburgh Comedy Award
Builders uncover historic human remains in Lancashire house renovation
Australia Wants to Tax Your Empty Bedrooms
MotoGP Cameraman Narrowly Avoids Pedro Acosta Crash at Hungarian Grand Prix
FBI Investigates John Bolton Over Classified Documents in High-Profile Raids
Report reveals OpenAI pitched national ChatGPT Plus subscription to UK ministers
Labour set to freeze income tax thresholds in long-term 'stealth' tax raid
Coca‑Cola explores sale of Costa coffee chain
Trial hears dog walker was chased and fatally stabbed by trio
Restaurateur resigns from government hospitality council over tax criticism
Spanish City funfair shut after serious ride injury
Suspected arson at Ilford restaurant leaves three in critical condition
Tottenham beat Manchester City to go top of Premier League
Bank holiday heatwave to hit 30°C before remnants of Hurricane Erin arrive
UK to deploy immigration advisers to West Africa to block fake visas
Nurse who raped woman continued working for a year despite police alert
Drought forces closures of England’s canal routes, canceling boat holidays
Sweet tooth scents: food-inspired perfumes surge as weight-loss drugs suppress appetites
Experts warn Britain dangerously reliant on imported food
Family of Notting Hill Carnival murder victim call event unmanageable
Bunkers, Billions and Apocalypse: The Secret Compounds of Zuckerberg and the Tech Giants
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
×