The Galway Educate Together National School in Newcastle has invited local election candidates from all parts of Galway city to meet with teachers, parents, and children of the school to discuss the planned expansion of the school.
According to school principal, John Farrell, the meeting which takes place on Tuesday, May 13, at 1.30pm, is a chance for the local election candidates to find out “how the school expansion is progressing and to brief them about what is planned”. It is also an opportunity for students and their families to meet with the local election candidates “which is very much part of the Educate Together ethos”.
The expansion is in response to the growing need for additional primary school places in the Newcastle area and because of the demand for multi-denominational education in Galway. The expansion respresents a significant capital investment by the Department of Education and Science. It is expected that the construction, which is due to begin shortly, will create much needed employment and investment in the local economy. The expansion started in 2012 when the Department of Education and Science approached the school to enrol a second junior infant class such was the demand for places.
According to Orla O’Brien, the chair of the school board: “We plan to be in our new building by September 2015 and we are currently at an advanced stage in the planning process. Galway City Council has indicated a willingness to grant planning permission for the required new building once the planning process is complete.”
