Excelsior High - over recent years there hasn't been much good news coming from that Southside school - as it's lurched from one plan to the next - closed down, then transitioned to a junior high, and now to a high school run in shifts.
And now, this school that's always playing catch-up, has caught up with mainstream academia, in one key area: the Sciences.
UNESCO funded a fully equipped 'state of the art' Science lab. Students, Faculty and Staff proudly gathered on campus this morning for the ribbon cutting ceremony of the new lab, and Seven News was there.
Marshall Nunez - Former Excelsior High School Teacher
"When the school moved back here in 1982, and I came around 1984-85 and joined the staff here, this downstairs was just a shell, there were no walls and divisions inside, nor windows. In fact, there was just a few upstairs, and the classrooms used to be divided by chalkboards. I'm saying that to tell you how far we have come as an institution of learning, as Excelsior High. They students, the staff, the board, and the community of Belize City, has worked very hard to build what is now Excelsior High School, but it didn't come as a bed of roses. There were some very difficult times where the basketball is now - used to be a swamp. Where we are now used to be a little bit of a swamp. Where those other buildings are used to be mud. But we've developed over time, and so I am excited this morning, that with the very kind assistance of UNESCO, that we will be cutting the ribbons to this building that is now complete, and is now furnished with state-of-the-art science laboratory."
The new science lab has been received with great enthusiasm by both the student body and faculty.
And with all the high tech equipment, a renewed interest in the sciences is abuzz amongst the student body.
Voice of: Female 4th Form Student
"I remember those days when we were looked down on because we didn't have science lab to depend on. Now I am glad; those shameful days are over and done with, because Excelsior has now been blessed with a new sciences lab. Anatomy and Biology - yeah, these will now be a necessity. I say thanks to those who helped us achieve it, and I laugh in the face of the people who thought we couldn't do it. Science will now be my favorite subject."
Steven Smith - 4th Form Student, Excelsior High
"This science lab will be put to maximum use in the years to come. We, the students of Excelsior, believe what Max Planck once said, 'A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die, and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it.' This is our challenge and we seek to prove to you all here today that we, the Excelsior Community, are here, and we are here to make all of you believe in us."
Cutting of the ribbon for the new Science lab was done by UNESCO General Secretary, Dr. David Brown, and Excelsior Principal, Gayle Thompson.
Excelsior is a high school in the daytime, and in the night, a special curriculum is offered.
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