Two traditions, one future

EDUCATION Minister Senator Dr Dana Morris Dixon officially unveiled the newly merged Hydel Cumberland High School Monday, declaring that the unification wasn’t about erasing either school’s identity, but rather combining the best of their traditions to create a single learning environment better equipped to serve students and make fuller use of existing resources. “I love to see the new motto: ‘On the wings of excellence, endeavour to soar.’ And that’s a merger of the two mottos of the two schools. So even starting with the name, we merged the two schools.

With the motto, we have merged the two schools and their ethos,” Morris Dixon said Monday while delivering greetings at the name unveiling ceremony at the school’s campus in Portmore, St Catherine. As she helped to officiate both the historic first day of the school and the start of the 2026-2027 academic year, Morris Dixon explained that Cumberland High School had a capacity for 1,200 students but had only been operating with just over 300 students when she visited about a year ago. She added that the infrastructural challenges at Hydel High, coupled with Cumberland’s available space, made the merger a practical option.

“One of the things we had thought about was potentially moving the children in little groups to different schools, putting them all around St Catherine. But I think this is the best option. I think this was quite strategic in nature, and that’s how we’re going to continue to do this restructuring of education in Jamaica — be strategic — because now that we have one institution instead of two, it means we can direct more resources to one...

that is our plan,” said Morris Dixon. Already, significant investment is being made in the new school. The minister announced that $70 million is being spent to improve its electrical system while work is also being done on the home economics laboratory.

She added that the school’s parking lot will be expanded to accommodate the increased number of staff, while upgrades to the sporting facilities are also planned. “So there’s a lot that will happen here, and Principal [Carlon Pitt] can ask for everything he wants. Principal, we’ve already granted your first wish, which was more students, but your success, the success of this merged institution, is really important to the Ministry of Education.