THE Banse La Grace Combined School in Laborie was the recipient of a small projects grant from the German Embassy, facilitated by the German Honorary Consul in Saint Lucia, Mrs. Karolin Troubetzkoy.
The grant in the amount of EC $34, 040.00 was used to start renovations of the school library. The library is currently being retrofitted by members of the community and will be utilized in the future by the students of the school as well as secondary school students and community members.
The Banse La Grace Combined School was established on January 30, 1960. It is located in the rural community of Banse La Grace, Laborie. The school serves the students of the surrounding communities; the present enrolment is 85 students.
The school is committed to providing students with the best educational opportunities and has embarked on a number of interventions to assist students with their needs. Recognizing that many students experience difficulties in literacy, particularly in reading, the school has embarked on a number of initiatives to help alleviate this problem.
One of the interventions was the establishment of the school library and a library programme
The main objectives of the library programme are to foster an interest in reading and assisting students in enhancing their literacy skills. The school has sought assistance and has received donations of books from many generous agencies and organizations. The room which housed the library was termite infested and this affected the books which resulted in a large number being discarded over the years.
The school has partnered with the Peace Corps Organization in a two year literacy improvement project. A Peace Corps Volunteer has been assigned to the school to assist and also has responsibility for teaching library skills when the project is completed. An after school literacy programme is being started to further assist students in improving their skills
The principal of the Banse La Grace Combined School, Ms. Virginia Edward hopes that with the new facilities for the library and the programmes to be initiated, the students’ abilities in literacy will be enhanced and will lead to better performance. She extended her gratitude to the German Embassy and Honorary Consul for their “thoughtful and timely assistance”.