WAKEFIELD, Trelawny – Muschett High School in Trelawny now has a spanking new language enhancement centre, which was officially opened last Wednesday after several months of construction at a cost of $3 million.

Funding for the centre, named in honour of the school’s former principal, Denham McIntyre, was made available through the Secondary Schools Enhancement Programme (SSEP). The facility will benefit some 70 students, drawn from grades seven to nine, who are participants in the school’s reading programme.

Vice-principal Millicent Gray said Wednesday that the centre’s opening represented the realisation of a long held dream.

“We have been trying for years to establish a reading area. Each time we got an area, we lost the area because it belonged to other departments. In 2004, November, I approached Mr Mac (McIntyre) and asked him what he thought. He identified this area and commenced measuring,” she said.

After more than two years, the centre has finally opened its doors. It has been outfitted with five computers, books, a television set, a DVD player, a CD player and a radio. There is also a nice collection of artwork on display.

McIntyre, now principal at Cornwall College in St James, said he was delighted at the completion of the reading centre. He noted that it would help to ensure the achievement of the school’s mission to provide all its students with literacy and numeracy requirements at the secondary level.

“I feel very good about this. It is the fulfilment of a dream. It is now a shared vision, and I am sure that with the children benefiting from this, the objective of the school’s mission will be achieved,” he said.

Garth Anderson, who last September became principal of Muschett High which operates a two-shift system, also expressed pleasure with the new reading centre.

“I think it is an excellent idea. As the new principal, I found out that quite a number of our students are coming here unable to read and they need special attention,” he said.