Saltus proudly opened its $12.5 million Gosling Centre Goose Gosling centre on Friday.

The 50,000 square foot multi-level building linking the upper level to the school field will expand the graduate year into a two-year programme preparing students for university.

The ground floor has year seven classrooms as well as changing rooms for sport and a purpose built space for drama ? already an integral part of the curriculum. The ground floor also allows for an extension of the physical education programme by introducing space for dance and aerobic activities.

The expanded college prep graduate programme on the first floor will use four classrooms, a common room and quiet study place. It will allow more subjects while advanced students may take the advance placement course.

More time is available for struggling students to achieve a high grade. The Centre for Learning on the upper floor will customise learning for students as the school embraces the concept that children learn in different ways. It allows for student assessment, training and materials for different teaching, expanded programmes for highflyers.

Struggling students will also be given extra help. Featuring small classrooms for group study there are also tutor spaces for individual study, a counseling office and a reading area. The centre for learning also has a music centre and an IT centre supporting the laptop computer programme.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, new Education Minister Neletha Butterfield echoed the sentiments of other speakers in paying tribute to Francis (Goose) Gosling who had conceived the idea of the centre and poured time and money into the school for years.

"It is no wonder this new facility is being named after him. I am particularly pleased that the facility will be used by the wider community and not just the privileged few. The new centre of learning is an established resource for all organisations involved in education.

"Without the willingness of the private sector to engage with and partner with the public sector Bermuda would be a poorer place indeed. I am pleased these partnerships are firmly entrenched with the way we do things."

Organisations which might use the Centre for Learning include the Bermuda Autism Society, Deaf Awareness, The Institute for Talented Students and the Reading Clinic.

Saltus has been around for more than a century and has around 1,000 students.