A Resolution of the Council of the Government authorising the opening of a public call for tenders for the construction of the new Lajes do Pico Basic Education and Secondary School on the island of Pico was published in the Official Journal yesterday. The works have a base price of € 14,000,000.00 and a maximum completion period of 24 months. The new school encompasses all teaching levels: Preschool, Basic Education and Secondary School.

The new building will meet the specificities, needs, goals and expectations of the school community, taking into the adaptability and restructuring of the space as well as the durability and sustainability of the premises over time.

The building will have the following structure: 4 activity rooms for Kindergarten and Special Education; 6 classrooms and a multipurpose room for Elementary School level; 12 classrooms for Middle School, Junior and Senior High School; Laboratories; Spaces for Technologies and Arts/Expressions; Auditorium, Resource Centre, Social and Education Support Spaces; Administrative, Management and Support Spaces; Specific Spaces for Physical Education and Sport.

The school will be equipped with a sports hall and a gymnasium for Physical Education classes. In addition, a multipurpose sports hall will be built outside the school, which will include a running track and sandpit.

This investment is part of the effort undertaken by the Regional Government in the modernisation of the school network to create the necessary conditions that promote an education of excellence, allowing student to acquire skills in an environment of innovation and research. In this context, the Regional Government believes that Azorean youngsters may become more autonomous, critical, interventional and competitive citizens in the search of a better citizenship and an increasingly entrepreneurial society.

With regard to this investment, the Regional Secretary for Education believes that "investments in the school network must be planned, coordinated and monitored according to the reformulation of organisational model of the educational system. For this reason, the Azorean Government continues to invest in the school network which allows, on the one hand, to recover degraded buildings without the necessary safety and quality conditions and, on the other hand, to solve problems concerning overcrowded schools and the excessive distance between the school and the students' area of residence.

Cláudia Cardoso added that "the Government does not pursue education policies for the Azores according to the occasion or opportunity. In fact, the Government develops and will continue to develop the programme that was initially defined, which gives emphasis to the role of schools in the promotion of equality of opportunities and breaking of barriers that have kept many of our fellow citizens in poverty and exclusion for various generations."

The government official concluded that "Lajes do Pico Basic Education and Secondary School will be another hallmark in the quality of the commitments taken by the Regional Government."