Minister for Education and Development Paula Cox has broken her silence on the slow progress of the new public secondary school and said no students will move in until it is totally finished.

During an interview with The Royal Gazette yesterday, Ms Cox said it would make no sense moving just some students into the new $70 million site when part of it became ready, with the rest following on later.

She said splitting students up at Berkeley Institute between the present site and the new one across the street would not only be disruptive, but would not work from a management standpoint.

As a result, the status quo will remain until the new school in Berkeley Road, Pembroke, is totally finished and outfitted with equipment.

Ms Cox said she has spoken to some parents and the school, along with Works and Engineering Minister Alex Scott, and said everyone was in agreement.

"We have to be in a position where we have a school which is in a safe position for transferring over to at an appropriate time," said Ms Cox.

"If we are going to have a situation where we don't have the ability to do that sooner, then we will continue with the status quo. Minister Scott has already said very decisively and clearly in the public domain that's he's doing everything he can to try to deliver the school in as timely a fashion as is possible, but given the fact that once the school is ready, it's not that you can just walk in.

"Clearly, we would all like to have the school done and ready as soon as possible, but I think the main thrust from the Ministry of Education is that we don't have a situation that is a disruptive environment and we are not going to have a position where you have students in a split facility.

"It would not make sense from an operational feasibility point of view."

The slow progress of the new school has caused some concern across the Island, with claims being made that it may not be finished until a full year after its deadline of September this year. Until the end of last year, General Contractor Pro-Active Management Systems Ltd. and Mr. Scott claimed work was only about six weeks behind, however, an audit on the progress of the site proved there were much greater delays.

Industry insiders have claimed that the school may be not ready until Easter or possibly September next year, with much of the building still not yet watertight.

However, Mr. Scott said he was hoping to have some students in by the original deadline of September this year, provided a planning certificate was granted, with the rest moving in when the building was completed.

But Minister Cox said she realised that once the shell of the building was completed and closed in, there were still many more hours of work ahead while equipment was ordered and the interior was outfitted.

She said just ensuring that communication facilities and the necessary fixtures were in place would take considerable time.

But she said the school and parents had stated that they would rather the students stay at the old site for longer, rather than move to an unfinished building.

"I think that certainly, in terms of whether it's going to cause any mishap or any inconvenience to the school family, that's not my understanding," said the Minister.

Ms Cox said at the end of last year she visited the new Berkeley site and was very impressed with the quality of work completed so far.

She said she hoped the school would be finished as soon as possible, but said leaving students at the old Berkeley site for longer than originally planned would not hamper their education or cause any difficulties.

And she said while both Berkeley Institute and CedarBridge Academy had to introduce a shift system to their classrooms last year, due to additional students brought about the introduction of the extra S4 year last September, the schools did not believe they would need to continue the shift system this year.

"I think that while we all certainly hope that the new second senior school is built and completed in a timely fashion, he (Mr. Scott) has listened to both the senior principal education team at Berkeley, as well as to the Ministry, and I think he is working assiduously to comply as quickly as possible, but we will see a continuation of the status quo if it is not ready in time.

"I think there is a meeting of the minds, and he is quite clear and affable that he wants to meet the needs of his client.

"The main thing is that we are keeping watching brief and we are keeping the school leadership informed and they are attending the meetings when they are required."