King Street college is full

March 1987

WITH St. Laurences College in King Street, Drogheda “bursting at the seams’ and several of its classes farmed out to rented accommodation in other parts of the town, the urgency of procuring the proposed new Community College, to serve the north side of town, has again been stressed by members of the Vocational Education Committee.

A site for this post primary college, which will initially have accommodation for 400 pupils, has already been earmarked by the VEC Board at The Twenties, but sanction for the purchase of the land is still awaited from the Department of Education.

The Department says its architects have still to assess the site. The site is about-10 acres in size, but if acquired for the college, about one acre of this will be taken over by Drogheda Corporation for road widening in the area. Meanwhile as the VEC awaits the green light from the Department on the much needed Community College, they are contending with the overflow situation at their King Street College.

At present there are 570 on the roll call — a number far in excess of what the building was erected to take.

There are 10 prefabricated structures on the site, but even this is not sufficient to meet the ever increasing demands on the college for places.

To meet this growing demand the VEC has agreed to purchase a small site of land behind their school, in Francis Street, from the Corporation. Price has been agreed at £2,000. Also in the deal is the agreement of the college authorities to transfer a portion of land for pedestrian access between Francis Street and Palace Street.

The committee have expressed the intention of lobbying the new Minister for Education to hurry up approval from the Department of Education for their proposed new college at Moneymore, while she is opening the new gym in Rathmullen.