St. Louis Senior High School has received a major boost with the renovation of its 1,000-capacity old dining hall by the 2000 year group of past students.

The renovation project was aimed at improving the dining experience for students. It includes a new public address system, durable dining tables and benches, upgraded windows, fresh painting, the construction of 46 dishwashing base taps, and the provision of new eating bowls.

The project, which cost about 500,000 Ghana cedis, forms part of the year group’s effort to give back to their alma mater and improve student welfare.

President of the 2000 year group, Dr Yaa Achiaa Boateng, explained that the decision to renovate the hall followed an assessment of the difficult conditions students faced during dining hours.

“We assessed the situation and realised that students were going through a lot of difficulty during dining hours, so we decided to intervene by renovating the old dining hall to make it more comfortable and dignified for them,” she explained.

The Headmistress of St. Louis Senior High School, Madam Ama Kyerewaa Benefo, extended her heartfelt gratitude to the past students and appealed to the government to urgently address the school’s accommodation challenges by improving the dormitory facilities.

She says the school is currently overpopulated, making it difficult for students to have comfortable sleeping spaces, with some forced to sleep on the floor due to inadequate beds and space.

“We are very grateful to the past students for this intervention, but we are also appealing to the government to urgently support us to improve our dormitory facilities because the current population is putting serious pressure on accommodation, with some students sleeping on the floor,” she asserted.

Her appeal comes at a time when the St. Louis Past Students Association, led by the 2000 year group, has renovated the school’s old 1,000-capacity dining hall.

The refurbished facility was officially handed over to the school during this year’s Prize and Thanksgiving Day celebration.

St. Louis Senior High School currently has a student population of about 5,000, putting pressure not only on dormitories but also on dining facilities.

The Ashanti Regional Minister, Dr Frank Amoakohene, who attended the event, indicated that the school will benefit from GETFund allocations for the construction of two-storey classroom blocks to support teaching and learning.

The Head Girl of the school, Benedicta Serwaa Opoku, says the renovated dining hall has come at the right time and will bring relief to students.

“The renovation of the dining hall has come at the right time, and it will bring great relief to us as students during meal times,” she said

This year’s Prize and Thanksgiving Day celebration was held on the theme: “Nurturing Inner Beauty, Honouring Excellence.”