ronan fagan
In a major boost for the local education landscape, St Mary's National School has accepted an offer from Department of Education for a major infrastructure expansion.
Nestled in the heart of Athlone, the evolving primary school received the development news in recent weeks, principal, Ms Ailish McManus, confirming to the Athlone Advertiser that a decision had been unanimously agreed by the Board of Management to accept the offer put forward by the Department of Education.
"We received this much welcome news from the Department of Education in recent weeks and following deliberation, our Board of Management have decided to accept the offer for the school's expansion.
"We made a Major Capital Works application to the Department approximately one year ago and following numerous deputations with Minister Norma Foley, it was with much delight that we received the realised offer," Ms McManus stated.
The school principal expressed her gratitude to Deputy Robert Troy during the deputation process and his willingness to facilitate meetings with the Government Minister enabling the expansion application to progress during the year.
The expansion will realise a significant number of quality classrooms using the modular framework to accommodate the school's evolving student and teacher base. Improvements to existing on-site infrastructure is also part of the future development at St Mary's National School which presently operates on a split campus either side of Grace Park Road in close proximity to the Fair Green car park.
"This investment by the Department of Education represents a significant investment for our school community and for the future of education in our ever evolving town. Athlone continues to grow, our demographic is changing and it is vital that our students receive the best possible education in a school setting that is conducive to a positive learning environment. Our schools must be more accessible to all students and this development is most certainly a boost to the local education landscape," Ms McManus commented.
Ms McManus confirmed that the school expansion is awaiting design team appointment and until such a realisation occurs final construction development plans remain to be decided upon, the Department allowing for the possible provision of further accommodation due to the impact of any on-site reconfiguration of the campus.
Welcoming the news, Deputy Troy stated that the development was testament to the hard work, focus and dedication of the school's principal, teaching body and board of management.
"This is a process in which we have been regularly engaged over the course of approximately one year so to receive this much welcome news for education in Athlone is a major boost for all parties involved," Deputy Troy asserted.
