Sir John A. Cumber Primary School will expand into the former Kiddiewinks preschool site in West Bay, Education Minister Hon. Rolston Anglin announced Friday (21 August) at the Education Professionals' Welcome Event at the John Gray High School Gymnasium. The primary school will begin occupying the site in the coming week. The Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) acquired the property for approximately $6.5 million.
Under the expansion, three existing reception classes will be relocated to the new site, joined by one new class and bringing the total number of reception classes to four. The site will also introduce two autism-specific classrooms for key stage 1 students, expanding provision beyond the school's existing autism specific classrooms for key stage 2 students. Teachers have already been recruited to staff the new classrooms. The additional space increases the school’s capacity for early-years students and those with special educational needs, helping it meet growing demand for school places in the district. Minister Anglin said the expansion responds to sustained population growth, with West Bay identified a fast-growing district and a particular pressure point for school planning.
"The pressures that come with projecting population growth in this district over the next five to 10 years caused me a great deal of concern," he said. "In listening carefully during our school visits, we made sure we did something about it." "For any primary school in Cayman, that addition is significant," he said. "It allows us to manage and accommodate both the current and future growth rates we are seeing across our islands."
The West Bay expansion is one of several capital projects underway in the government school system. The new Layman E. Scott High School campus is nearing completion, while work is set to begin on the new hall at the Joanna Clarke Primary School soon. The announcement was made at the Education Professionals' Welcome Event, which marked the start of the 2026/2027 academic year for teachers and education professionals across the government system.