Queen’s College is expanding.

Last month, the school broke ground on a new two-story classroom block for its high school.

The new building is the first in a series of additions that the school will undertake in the coming years.

“Over the last three years, Queen’s College purchased all of the available land bordering its boundary with the vision of future expansion,” said Andrea Gibson, Queen’s College’s principal.

“The vision for the new Queens College includes construction of additional specialty classrooms, a signature building incorporating library media-centres for all three sections of the school, centrally located business and administrative offices and significant upgrades of our sporting facilities.”

After months of preparation and debate, the board of directors as well as the Queen’s College Foundation decided that they had a duty to become as pliable as their alma mater’s doors.

“It has been a long road here but we are finally at the point where we are beginning preparations for the two-story classroom block,” said Sir Durward Knowles, chairman, Queen’s College Foundation.

The growing campus nestled at the heart of Village Road opposite The Bahamas National Trust (BNT) has reached its capacity yet boasts a waiting list of eager parents to enroll their children into what is arguably the one school that boasts more all-merit scholars than every other secondary institution in the country.

For Michael Diggiss, Architect, Project Manager, Chairman of the high school classroom block building committee, and QC alumnus, the new venture is exciting and a much needed aid for the campus’ current constraints.

“The proposed block will help alleviate some of the accommodation challenges faced by the high school,” he said. “Thanks to the committed contributions from our special donors, it will become a reality.”

The Donors – Vintage QC

It was a great day to break ground.

The soil seemed primed for the historical part it would play – more ready for its close up than the prominent folks who stood on it.
The names of the Director’s Donors are some of well-known throughout The Bahamas– a fixture as it were in the Bahamian landscape. But, Sir Durward Knowles, George Mosko, Godfrey Kelly, Lady Anne Johnstone, and Sonia Kelly, are, at heart, old classmates and dear friends.

As Director’s Donors each has donated between $50,000 and $100,000 each to the classroom block project.

In gratitude for their generous support to Queen’s College, a classroom in the new block will be named in their honour so that future generations will be aware of their contributions to the development of education in The Bahamas.

Ironically, at the helm of this proverbial monetary ship is Sir Durward Knowles. The two-time Olympic medalist for sailing has made it his mission to keep members of The Queen’s College Foundation focused on the continued growth and development of Queen’s College.

“I would like to say a special thank you to the Director’s Donors for their support,” he said. “Over the years being chairman of the Q.C. Foundation has been at times hard and sometimes easy. This project has been no different. I am pleased we are at this point and invite other Q.C. alumni to donate and help us complete this project.”

Hoping to inspire a future generation of philanthropists he encouraged other alumni to give back to the Queen’s College.

Moving Forward

With a goal of ensuring that his alma mater sees another 123 years of excellence with a campus to rival most colleges in the region, Sir Durward and the directors have tasked Kirk Thompson as the project’s contractor.

“I’m really happy to be a part of history,” said Thompson, whose two children, both students at Queen’s College, were also on hand for the ground breaking ceremony. Both children will most likely be some of the first students to use the new facility.

“We commit to being grateful custodians of all that we receive and to doing what we can to foster an altruistic spirit in our students so that Queen’s College will continue to evolve for the benefit of future students,” said Andrea Gibson.

All Q.C. alumni are encouraged to join in this worthwhile venture by donating to the project’s fund and can do so by contacting the Queen’s College Development Office at 394-6389 or jalbury@qchenceforth.com.