Students at Princess Margaret Secondary School are petitioning for meaningful changes to the way students are treated and to the conditions we are expected to learn in.

A major concern is how discipline and decisions are handled by administration. Students have received punishments they believe are excessive, unfair, or inconsistent, including situations where students followed instructions from staff but were later punished because of conflicting decisions. Students should be held accountable when necessary, but discipline should be fair, reasonable, and respectful.

One incident that especially concerned us was seeing a young girl who appeared to be in First Form outside the school gate, crying on the ground after being locked out for arriving late. When I pointed out the crying student to the principal, the response was “And?” Whatever the circumstances behind her lateness, we believe a young student in distress deserves compassion and an opportunity to be heard.

We are also facing problems with basic necessities and the physical school environment. Students can have difficulty accessing drinking water, including being unable to simply purchase water when needed and facing restrictions on accessing it without a pass. In a hot school environment, we believe students should have a reasonable and reliable way to get drinking water throughout the day. This is especially concerning because students spend hours at school in increasingly hot conditions. Current Caribbean climate guidance warns that September and October 2026 are expected to bring increased heat stress across the Lesser Antilles, with unusually high temperatures and humidity.

There is also a serious shortage of chairs. Students can be seen searching around the school for somewhere to sit, sometimes unable to find a chair at all and having to stand or sit on desks. Having somewhere appropriate to sit should not be something students have to struggle to find.

Other concerns include overcrowded cafeteria lines, limited lunch time, flooding, damaged facilities, and poor maintenance. Students also feel that school spirit, activities, recreation, and student involvement have declined while restrictions have increased.

We are petitioning for:

Fair and reasonable disciplinary practices

Students to be heard before serious disciplinary decisions are made

Reliable and reasonable access to drinking water

Adequate seating

Improved facilities, maintenance, ventilation, and heat management

A review of the lunch and cafeteria system

More activities, recreation, school spirit, and student involvement

Meaningful student representation and consultation

We are not asking for a school without rules. We are asking for fairness, compassion, basic necessities, better conditions, and a school where students feel heard, respected, and proud to belong.