25 Sep 2024 12:52 PM
Coláiste Iosagáin is going to get what will be the biggest school for several counties, replacing their long outdated and cramped building and eight blocks of prefabs.
The new school will have space for 1,300 pupils. Coláiste Iosagáin currently has over 1100 pupils in a school that was built for 750 students with eight blocks of prefabs.
After a decade of waiting and planning, the school board were able to submit their application last July, and it was approved this week, with no changes to the proposed plan.
The principal Justin Brown shared his reaction to the Leinster Express / Laois Live.
"We are delighted. We are meeting with the Department and the Design Team on Friday to ensure that we continue this momentum," he said.
He said they were expecting the process to take longer.
"We were pleasantly surprised. The architects were even expecting requests for further information from the Council so we are all happy.
"It is another important milestone for us. We are very fortunate as a school to have such parental and community support not just for this project but in general," the principal said.
The school might open its doors in 2028, but he is not counting his chickens.
"Understandably we were all a little cynical about progress with this new build as we have been waiting so long for it but at least now we can see progress. Our staff and students deserve a new school. Visitors to the school are surprised to see how many prefabs we have at the back of the school. We have eight separate blocks but in fairness, they are in very good condition
"The timeline states that we should be in our new school in November 2028 - and that is without any hiccups. Once I see some machinery out the back we will be happy. It is good that the build will be going on without impacting the operation of our current school. Colleagues of mine who have schools get extensions said that it is a nightmare trying to manage a school and a building site on the same campus. At least with this project the building site is totally separate to our existing school.
"We are assured this project will be State of the Art and a flagship project so we are cautiously excited. We are in our Advent period now," the principal said.
Designed by Kennedy Fitzgerald Architects, the new school will be in a 'X' shape, part three-storey, part two-storey, covering a vast 12,646sqm.
It will have 48 classrooms, 24 specialist teaching rooms with associated preparation rooms, four special needs classrooms with a Special Needs Education suite, and a double height multi-purpose hall with associated PE accommodation.
There will also be a library, staff rooms, administration rooms, toilets, stores, accommodation and also a double height General Purpose hall with its own kitchen and store.
Outside there will be a covered area, a construction studies store, bin store, an Air source heat pump and an ESB substation. There will be 104 parking spaces and six universal parking spaces. There will also be 120 bicycle parking spaces.
After it is built and the students and staff have moved into their brand new school, the old school will be demolished and the prefabs removed, and a new GAA pitch will be built instead, as well as seven MUGA multi purpose playing courts.
The multi million cost will be paid by the Department of Education. It will be built on the GAA field at the back of the existing school. The 6.2 hectare land is owned by the board of management.
https://www.leinsterexpress.ie/news/portarlington-/1613794/planning-approval-for-huge-new-school-in-laois-offaly-town-of-portarlington.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook#:~:text=Advertise%20with%20Laois,board%20of%20management.