Quality Academics shuttered
Students scramble to find places as St Andrew-based institution’s lease expires, leaving them in the cold
Published:Sunday | August 24, 2025 | 12:11 AMCorey Robinson - Senior Staff Reporter
Several students have been left in limbo after Quality Academics, a long-standing private educational institution with more than 200 pupils on roll, announced its sudden closure at its 77 Half-Way Tree Road location in St Andrew. The school’s lease, held on a property owned by Holy Childhood Preparatory School, has been terminated, forcing the institution to cease operations.
In a letter dated August 12, 2025, administrators informed parents of the immediate discontinuation of all-day, evening, and Saturday programmes.
“We had been operating at this location with this model since 2015, but our lease has been terminated, and so we must move,” the letter read. “Quality Academics is saddened by the closure, the short notice, and the late decision, but we had very little choice.”
Following the announcement, staff spent much of last week reaching out to parents and students to assist with finding alternative placements. Administrators also confirmed they are working alongside the Ministry of Education to address the disruption.
Despite these efforts, many parents were left in a state of panic, scrambling to secure new schools for their children ahead of the new academic year. While some were successful, others left the Quality Academics office frustrated and uncertain – many accompanied by confused and anxious children.
In addition to the displaced students, approximately 30 full-time and part-time staff are now seeking alternative employment. The news was especially shattering, they said, against the demands of the back-to-school season.
Wayne Robinson, founder of Quality Academics, which was founded in 1998, described the decision as impromptu, unfair, and unfortunate. He noted that attorneys representing the school have started their assessment of the matter in furtherance of possible court action.
“In the meantime, we know battles can take a long time, and so we are doing our best to make sure that the children are placed in other schools. That is the process that I’m going through now. Then, after that, I look at the staff, before clearing out of the place,” said Robinson, who is the principal of Jamaica College. “We have placed some [students] already, but you know, finding space for all the students is not going to be easy, especially when schools are already at capacity.
“Quality Academics has been a saviour for thousands of Jamaican students. If you look at the history of what we have done, it will confirm this. So it is very unfortunate. There are issues there that are definitely legal,” he charged, as he expressed his sadness over the students’ predicament.
NO SUDDEN DECISION
However, Danielle Archer, chairman of Holy Childhood Preparatory School, pushed back against Robinson’s claim that the decision was sudden.
“Be advised, they (Quality Academics) were given notice three years ago,” Archer told the Sunday Gleaner. “The contract did not require a reason [for termination]; however, the prep school requires the space for additional students. They (Quality Academics) were using part of the school.”
Archer added that the timeline should have allowed Quality Academics ample time to plan their next steps.
“I’m sure we have our documentation to show that we executed according to the contract,” she said.
Asked about the three-year notice Archer mentioned, Robinson responded: “As I said, it is a legal matter, and it will come out in the legal issues what is valid and what is not.
“Importantly, we have had discussions about this. This is not a new thing. She (Archer) was not in the last meeting that we had, but we’ve had discussions about this, and they know exactly what is happening.”
Senior staff at Quality Academics expressed deep disappointment over the closure, noting not only the disruption of learning but also the loss of long-standing relationships with students and parents.
Principal Annette Smith was unable to confirm how many students had been successfully placed but said the Ministry of Education was actively involved.
“On our part, we have good interpersonal relationships with schools, so many of the schools are accommodating our students,” she explained, adding that the students were in grades seven to 13.
ALREADY PURCHASED UNIFORMS
Smith noted that the school was doing all it could to assist parents with documentation needed for transfers. However, she acknowledged that many had already purchased uniforms and supplies, which would now go to waste.
Sharon Hunt, head of the education ministry’s Independent Schools Unit, which oversees privately run education institutions such as Quality Academics, said she was aware of the situation and would be meeting with stakeholders in the coming weeks. Until then, she could not provide details.
“Until I carry it before a committee I cannot speak to it,” she told The Sunday Gleaner. “The Ministry of Education is responsible for education in the country, and for any child that needs to be placed in an educational institution regardless of the reason behind the need for the placement. The ministry will work assiduously to ensure every child is placed in an environment conducive to education.”
Parents continue to feel the strain.
Terry-Ann Erskine, whose daughter passed seven Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate subjects, getting five grade ones in the process, said she was caught off guard by the closure and has since been trying to secure a spot at Wolmer’s Girls’ School. With space proving limited, she is considering an alternative sixth-form placement at Excelsior High School as suggested by Smith, though her daughter is not enthusiastic about the option.
Meanwhile, Aneisha Simpson, mother of a 16-year-old boy entering 11th grade, described the process as exhausting. Her son was eventually placed at Greater Life Academy in St Andrew, but not without difficulty, she said, lamenting that she had to be going back and forth between Quality Academics, the MOE, and Greater Life Academy.
“I was just annoyed at the whole process because of all the running up and down to have him placed in another school, having to pay another registration fee, pay more money in school fees, and then, on top of that, I have to find uniforms for him. I have no clue what could have been done differently, but that was just so last-minute,” said Simpson.
Some students speculated last week that the lease termination may have been linked to disruptive behaviour by peers. However, Robinson denied this, saying no such complaints were ever officially made.