Newly appointed Minister for Education and Youth, Hildegarde Naughton, has announced that her Department has given permission for the extension to Calasanctius College in Oranmore to proceed to planning.
The new extension will encompass four mainstream classrooms, 12 special education teacher rooms, one multimedia room, an art room, two construction studies rooms, a engineering room, a technology prep area, three project stores, a science lab and prep area, a textile room, a staff room, and room for six special educational needs classes.
“I have been very conscious that Oranmore is lacking in secondary school places,” said Minister Naughton. “Resultantly, some years ago I secured funding for a significant extension to Calasanctius College from the then Minister for Education. Since that time I have been in frequent contact with the school and the Department of Education in order to get building commenced. I am therefore pleased to announce that my department gave the school permission to proceed to planning late last week.
“The school has had to turn away children every year due to demand for places which results in parents having to educate their children outside their own local area. There are well known demographic issues resulting in increased demand for school places in Oranmore and this additional accommodation will ease that burden significantly.
“Not being able to secure a school place is upsetting for families with children in local schools who had a long tradition of attending Calasanctius College over the years. The school has done its utmost to accommodate as many applicants as possible,” explained Minister Naughton.
“It’s also the case that Oranmore has a rapidly growing population, and we need to develop facilities and infrastructure to keep pace with that growth. That includes ensuring an adequate number of secondary school places for children in the local catchment area.”
