Crisis to delay school opening

PRINCIPAL STILL HOPES THAT ST PATRICK’S SPECIAL SCHOOL WILL OPEN BY CHRISTMAS

THE opening date of St Patrick’s Special School in Enniscorthy has been cast in doubt after work halted on the site in recent days.

Speaking to this newspaper on Thursday, school Principal Lee Rogers said work stopped on the site the previous Friday.

‘ They were working up until last Friday but then when the greater restrictions were imposed they stopped and they’re not there now,’ he said.

‘We were hoping we would have the key and be opened by August and obviously for the start of the school year in September,’ he added.

However, the actual date on which the school will be opened is now anyone’s guess, although Mr Rogers is still confident it will happen before Christmas.

‘At least we are well on the way and it’s a matter of it being delayed rather than not going ahead at all,’ he said.

‘If we were only starting the project now, with everything going on, I doubt the school would have been built,’ he added. ‘I don’t think there will be many schools of this size built anywhere for quite a while now.’

There were other initiatives in place based around the construction project too, including the per cent for art scheme which involves artists creating pieces in tandem with a capital project for a percentage cost of the build.

‘We would have been going to work on appointing the winning artist but that is also up in the air at the moment too, because we can’t get together to see what we would be putting there,’ said Mr Rogers.

He said he is thankful that the project was well under way when the current crisis unfolded.

‘I am delighted that we got the place started when we did because what chance would you have of getting a school of that magnitude over the line now?’ he said.

While the school is closed the teaching staff and Mr Rogers are in constant contact with parents and pupils through an online portal called Aladdin.

‘We send them work and activities and our teachers contact the parents during the week,’ he said.

‘However, as our pupils are more hands-on, there are some limits as to what can be sent to them to do,’ he added.

‘It’s a tough old time for everyone at the moment but the important thing is that everyone remains safe.’

The new school will be located in Drumgoold and the sod was first turned on the site in October 2018.

In the interim work has progressed steadily at the site with the majority of the main building now completed.

The overall cost of the project will be in the region of €14.5m and the building will encompass an area of around 5,940m2 and will be able to accommodate around 400 students.

There is a high level of excitement and anticipation among parents and pupils surrounding the new building as it will provide state-of-the-art facilities to the children.

The high regard in which the school is held within the community was underlined this time last year when a fundraising walk held in atrocious weather raised €3,700 for a hydro-therapy pool, which will be included in the new building.