Pares Secondary School is set to undergo significant renovations this summer as the government prepares to consolidate it with Glanvilles Secondary School, Education Minister Daryll Matthew has confirmed.

Speaking on the _Browne and Browne_ radio programme, Minister Matthew explained that the upgrades, overseen by the Board of Education, were already scheduled prior to Cabinet’s recent approval of the merger.

However, the decision to combine the two student bodies has prompted the government to expand the scope of the works.

“Pares was identified as a school that work needs to be done on this summer,” he said. “But given the merger, I’ve instructed that the planned budget be increased. Pares needs to now become a model institution here in Antigua and Barbuda.”

The upgrades aim to modernise the ageing school plant and improve learning conditions for the newly merged student population, which will number just over 340 students when the academic year begins in September.

“We do not want students from Glanvilles to feel they have left a better facility and gone to an inferior one in terms of the physical infrastructure,” Matthew said. “We’re ensuring that the school is ready, not just physically but also in terms of academic offerings and support systems.”

The planned works include improvements to labs, classrooms, and sporting facilities, with the goal of transforming Pares into one of the country’s best-equipped secondary schools.

The merger is part of a broader restructuring within the education system, driven by declining enrolment and the need to improve efficiency and quality. The vacated Glanvilles campus will be repurposed as a School of Agriculture.