Presentation’s bright new plan out to tender
PRESENTATION Secondary hopes to approve the design contract for its major new expansion by the start of March with the project now officially out for tender in recent weeks.
It represents a bright new chapter for the famous North Kerry secondary school, as it pushes ahead with the plans to develop a state-of-the-art two-storey block set to raise the standard of education there even higher.
Presentation already has the distinction of the highest rate of third-level placement for students of any school in the county.
Now, with the roughly €3 million in funding approved by the Department last month it looks forward to scaling up its delivery of the sciences.
Principal Eileen Kennelly said it would be the first major development at the school since 1980. 330 students are currently enrolled there.
“This is a very welcome and deeply significant development for our school and, indeed, the school community across all of North Kerry,” Ms Kennelly told The Kerryman.
“The two-storey expansion will comprise two new, stateof-the-art science laboratories; a science preparation area; up to four general classrooms, two rooms for students of additional needs; lifts, stairs, locker space and more.
“The project will also involve the refurbishment of the existing science laboratories into general classrooms.”
A new pedestrian entrance into the secondary from the Ballybunion Road is to take shape in crucial access to alleviate traffic on the Greenville entryway.
At the heart of the new plan is the opening-up of even greater opportunities for the girls of North Kerry in the sciences.
“Inclusivity is a key value for the school. That is what is really important, as it is all about increasing the likelihood of success for each and every one of our wonderful students.
“We already offer the Leaving Cert Applied (LCA) for instance, and have a very strong tradition in the sciences. We have offered Design, Communication and Graphics for the past 15 years already.
“Now, through the new development we will be able to place even greater emphasis on the STEM subjects than we already have been, giving the girls wider opportunities to study the science subjects,” Ms Kennelly said.