Students of the Elmore Stoutt High School are being housed at the Old Clarence Thomas Ltd Building in Pasea Estate, Tortola. Photo: VINO

ESHS, along with other schools, will operate under a shift system. The morning shift will run from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM while the evening shift will run from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM.

According to Connie E. George, Acting Chief Education Officer, "We started working on how to get our students back into a formal classroom setting and into school," said Ms George during a radio programme, Sparks Plug, on ZBVI 780 AM, adding that there were some challenges to meet deadlines but they were determined.

Ms George commented that the department set some benchmarks in order to allow them to meet certain deadlines.

The Acting Chief Education Officer stated that the education team is "open to run the entire programme" that they would have normally done.

Lunch break

During the shift system, the lunch hour will be placed at the end of the first shift and the beginning of the second shift, according to the Acting Chief Education Officer.

"The lunch for the morning shift will be at 12:00 PM and the lunch hour for the evening shift will be at 12:30 PM."

She further explained that the music programme will be implemented at a later date due to damages of the instruments, while all other subjects will be in the curriculum.

Classroom teaching will now be forty minutes instead of the regular one hour.

Holiday breaks

Ms George expressed that hoilday breaks will not be as regular breaks.

For example, "Christmas break would have normally been three weeks but now it will only be one week."

She noted that the first term will end in February while the second term will end in May. Additionally, the school year will end on July 27.

It is unclear at this time what is the number of children enrolled at the school and the amount of staff as Principal Ms Sandy M. Underhill declined a comment to this news site.

Students located in Virgin Gorda, from grades seven to twelve, started school on Thursday October 5, 2017 at the Bregado Flax Educational Centre-Primary Division.