Borrowed Classrooms and a Toronto Subsidy: Montego Bay’s New Catholic Boys’ School Opens Its Doors

• Monsignor Gladstone Wilson College in Montego Bay began in-person classes in September 2023 after two years online
• The Roman Catholic school is the city’s second boys’ high school
• It shares teaching with Campion College and classroom space with Mount Alvernia High
• Tuition starts at $81,000 a year, with the Catholic Diocese in Toronto subsidising the rest

Two years after starting as an online school, Monsignor Gladstone Wilson College in Montego Bay welcomed its students into classrooms for the first time in September 2023, the Gleaner reported on September 6. The Roman Catholic institution is Montego Bay’s second boys’ high school and sits near Cornwall College and Mount Alvernia High.

The school has grown by sharing rather than building. It has partnered with Campion College in St Andrew for virtual instruction and with Mount Alvernia for access to classrooms when needed. About 30 boys were enrolled across grades seven, eight and eleven when in-person classes began.

Deacon Ronald Thwaites, a former education minister, said: “The curriculum mirrors that of the best Catholic high schools, while emphasising discipline and Christian living.” He said boys “learn at a different pace than girls and, for that and other reasons, they sometimes see no merit in education and get deflected.” Headmaster Dave Soares, formerly of Cornwall College and St George’s College, said he wants to create “a learning environment not only about academics, but also about social education, to mould the students into better citizens.”

Annual tuition starts at $81,000, with the Catholic Diocese in Toronto subsidising the remainder. “I think this school will change my life. Less students, more attention,” said student Richando Gordon.

The school’s model is worth noting for anyone thinking about how new institutions get started without a large building budget. Instead of raising money for a campus first, the church began online, borrowed classroom space from an established Catholic school and used overseas church funding to keep fees low. For Montego Bay families, a new high school option close to home adds to the appeal of the surrounding communities. For diaspora readers, the Toronto subsidy shows how church networks abroad can put money directly into education in Jamaica. The real test will come when the school needs permanent facilities of its own.

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