It took six years but finally the Queen’s College auditorium was officially opened at a special general assembly yesterday morning.

Among the invitees were President Bharrat Jagdeo; Prime Minister Sam Hinds; Minister of Education, Dr Henry Jeffrey; former education minister Deryck Bernard; and Mayor Hamilton Green

In November 1997, a major portion of the school, including the administrative block and auditorium was destroyed by fire. The new building was budgeted at $74M and was designed by Orin Hinds and Associates.

Special invitees were welcomed by students who formed an archway comprising the Golden Arrowhead, the school flag and the flags of the various houses. The school’s orchestra played a blend of gospel and folk tunes.

The programme included prayers by students of the Christian, Hindu and Muslim religions; a choral presentation by the male students of the third forms; a musical `ragh’ performed by Tishani Singh who was accompanied by her sister, Preya, on the harmonium; nostalgic remarks by past student and past police commissioner Laurie Lewis; remarks by QC PTA President Mike James; a poem in Spanish by Daniel Ram and a number of instrumentals by students among other cultural pieces.

Principal Wendel Roberts chaired the assembly and welcomed all to the occasion. President Jagdeo delivered the main address and challenged the students to come up with a programme to improve the Information Technology curriculum. He said Queen’s College with its tradition in leadership and quality could take the lead with the National Centre for Educational Resource Development (NCERD) to institute a programme consistent with the modern use of information technology.

In brief remarks, Education Minister, Dr Henry Jeffrey noted that with the improved facilities, the school should reach even greater heights of excellence.

Noting the results of the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations, he singled out the performance of Daniel Ram who became the school and country’s first student to obtain 14 subjects at one sitting with 11 grade Ones and three grade Twos.

Chairman of the Board of Governors of the school, Ronald Ally gave an overview of the development of the auditorium and expressed his appreciation to the student body, staff, The Queen’s College Old Students Association (QCOSA) and the Parent Teachers Associa-tion for their contributions to the reconstruction. He also mentioned past students Roy Field-Ridley and Frank DeAbreu for the role they played in the conceptualisation of the auditorium.