SCHOOL FRUSTRATION OVER LACK OF PROGRESS ON EXTENSION
STAFF at Coláiste Bhríde Carnew have expressed frustration at the lack of progress of extension work on site which they see as vitally important for the welfare of secondary school students after they have seen increased numbers at the school year on year.
A spokesperson for Department of Education and Skills said that a major building project, consisting of a large extension for Coláiste Bhríde, Carnew is included in the Department’s Capital Programme 2016-2021 and that the project brief is ‘currently being refined’.
Meanwhile, members of staff had been contacting election candidates in the run up to the general election both in Wexford and Wicklow to highlight their case.
‘The response has been positive, they have been willing to come out and visit us and have given us commitments. We’re hopeful that they will honour their commitment.
‘What’s frustrating is that we have the land available, a total of 8.3 acres at the back of the school, but we don’t have planning permission to build.
‘As a school we need more space, we can’t afford to wait any long and we don’t want to compromise our high standard of education as well as students’ comfort. At the moment we are very limited from a timetabling point of view,’ a spokesperson for the school said.
As highlighted in a separate campaign for a third secondary school in Gorey, Coláiste Bhríde Carnew also sees that with the predicted increase in numbers of children in primary schools as well as transfers into different years, puts pressure on the ability meet the upcoming demand.
‘KWETB is our go-between with the Department, but our issue is with the Department as we just feel we are sitting waiting. The current building is designed to accommodate a 500 student capacity, and we expect our enrolments for September to increase to 935.
‘We will have a maximum capacity of 180 first years coming in, and the following year after a smaller group in fifth year leave, we are looking at hitting the 1,000 mark in 2021. Our concern is one of health and safety, because of the sheer volume of students in our corridors.
‘We had an inspector in last term, and we were commended for being able to cope with such conditions. It’s particularly challenging on a wet day, when we have all the students indoors. It’s stifling’.
Staff say that the public generally struggle to believe the limitations they work under, particularly having to use theory rooms for practical subjects and vice versa, for example teaching English in an engineering room due to lack of space.
‘We have very skilled staff, a total of 70 teachers, but we are exhausting all of our mechanisms. At the moment we don’t have a single green space to call our own, and we rely on the goodwill from local clubs for our teams who we are indebted to.
‘Even though we have a lot of sporting achievements on the regional and national stage, if local grounds aren’t available, we may have to ask the other teams if they have a pitch, and this involves expense of hiring bus, having two teachers to supervise and therefore a loss of teaching hours. It adds to the cost for them as the students often have to travel for sports fixtures’.
Staff say that as the school is reaching full capacity cross years except fifth year, the option for students to transfer into other years is also becoming more limited as time goes on.
‘We first applied for additional accommodation in 2013, and in 2017 we acquired the land, so it’s there owned by us and available to be developed. We’ve been given no reason as to why it hasn’t progressed’.
In a response to the case and complaints of staff at Coláiste Bhríde, Carnew, the Department of Education said that on completion of the project, a brief which is currently still being refined, the development will accommodate more than 850 students.
‘The Department has been in regular communication with the patron, the Kildare/Wicklow Education Training Board in relation to advancing the project to the next stage. It is envisaged that the development will accommodate in excess of 850 students’.
A spokesperson for the school said that this accommodation of in excess of 850 students is still too small to meet future demand.
‘Though we are grateful for the response from the Department, it is no consolation. If we hit the 1,000 student mark in 2021, that leaves out nearly a whole year group that won’t be accommodated’.