Officials from the Ministry of Education, Innovation, Gender Relations, and Sustainable Development—including Permanent Secretary Ms. Michelle Charles—last week met with the parents and guardians of students who, within a matter of weeks, could make up the first cohort at the Saint Lucia Sports Academy.

The meeting took place at the Financial Centre in Pointe Seraphine on Aug. 3. It was the second such meeting between the Ministry of Education, parents, students, and the leadership of the sports academy. On one previous occasion, parents had been taken on a walk-through of the facilities.

The Sports Academy will be located in Gros Islet, on the campus of what was previously known as the Gros Islet Secondary School. The school has been decommissioned and did not accept a Form One intake for the 2019-2020 academic year. In addition, Form 2 and 3 students have been transferred to other schools in the north of the island. Form 4 and 5 students will stay on to complete their CXC studies. The remainder of the student body will comprise student-athletes in three disciplines.

In partnership with the Saint Lucia National Cricket Association, and the Saint Lucia Football Association Inc., the bulk of the first cohort of students at the Sports Academy will consist of the national under-15 boys' teams in both sports, the under-15 girls' football team, and track and field athletes. Members of the boys' national teams will be domiciled at the Academy, staying in newly-prepared dorms. Members of the girls' national football team and track and field teams will be doing regular classes at the campus during the day, and will be training after school, but will not be staying overnight.

The student-athletes will pursue a basic curriculum similar to that which obtains at secondary schools islandwide, but with a view toward ensuring that the pupils are eligible for scholarships in the USA., Canada, England, and Australia, inter alia. There will also be specialised instruction geared towards careers in sports.