The Sir Arthur Lewis Community College sits on St. Lucia’s “Hill of Good Luck” Morne Fortune, one of St. Lucia’s most historic sites. This Hill of Good Luck was the scene of many battles between the British and the French who fought for St. Lucia. Many of the buildings are historic, as they were originally built for military use.
The Sir Arthur Lewis Community College began as an idea. A solution to the overcrowding of the L’Anse road Teachers College, and the response to the need for bigger and better educational facilities. For this dream to become a reality a ruined and desolate garrison had to be reconstructed and revitalized.
The idea of creating a complex of tertiary institutions on the ruins of an old military site was officially endorsed and the decision taken in 1966 to reserve for educational purposes certain buildings and adjoining lands on the crest of Morne Fortune (Hill of Good Luck).
With substantial support from the British Ministry of Overseas Development, five nineteenth century military buildings were refurbished to lay the foundation of the Morne Educational complex. In October 1979 the Cabinet of Ministers appointed the first committee to consider the integration of the Morne Education Complex.
The institution to be designed was again described not just as a place but as an idea. It was meant to become the nation’s premier educational institution and in keeping with the status which the Government accorded it was named after the eminent local economist, academic and 1979 Nobel Laureate Sir Arthur Lewis.
On June 1st,1986 the idea became a reality with the enactment of the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College Act. And in September 1986, the SALCC commenced operations with the Division of Arts, Science and General Studies, the Division Teacher Education and Educational Administration and the Division of Technical Education and management Studies.
