Two traditions, one future

EDUCATION Minister Senator Dr Dana Morris Dixon officially unveiled the newly merged Hydel Cumberland High School Monday, declaring that the unification wasn’t about erasing either school’s identity, but rather combining the best of their traditions to create a single learning environment better equipped to serve students and make fuller use of existing resources.

“I love to see the new motto: ‘On the wings of excellence, endeavour to soar.’ And that’s a merger of the two mottos of the two schools. So even starting with the name, we merged the two schools. With the motto, we have merged the two schools and their ethos,” Morris Dixon said Monday while delivering greetings at the name unveiling ceremony at the school’s campus in Portmore, St Catherine.

As she helped to officiate both the historic first day of the school and the start of the 2026-2027 academic year, Morris Dixon explained that Cumberland High School had a capacity for 1,200 students but had only been operating with just over 300 students when she visited about a year ago. She added that the infrastructural challenges at Hydel High, coupled with Cumberland’s available space, made the merger a practical option.