Athenry’s vocational school, Gairmscoil Mhuire, and the Co Galway VEC have been given a devolved grant to built a 1,000 pupil school in the town.
The school will be built on a greenfield site on the outskirts of Athenry. It will have 40 general classrooms, two multimedia learning labs, five science labs, two art rooms, three home economics rooms, two music rooms, four woodwork and engineering rooms, two technical graphics rooms, a library, canteen, four assembly areas, and a new PE hall and fitness centre.
The new school will also have a special education unit with two classrooms, a multi-sensory room and para-educational room, practical activity room, and daily living skills room with a secure hard and soft play area with a sensory garden. Playing pitches and six external basketball courts will also be included in the design.
The school has agreed the accommodation schedule and brief with the Department of Education. Principal Alan Mongey has warmly welcomed the news and says it is “the fruit of hard work by Co Galway VEC and the school’s management and staff over recent years”.
The development builds on the national leading work being done in the school in relation to the use of electronic textbooks by all Junior cycle students this year.
The school will gradually increase its first year intake in the coming years in preparation for the move in September 2014 and will accept 140 first year students as part of its enrolment process for September 2012 which has a closing date of November 18 2011.
The Gairmscoil Mhuire open night for next year is scheduled for 7pm on Tuesday November 8.
