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A 1,000-pupil high school for South County Dublin is one of four new post-primary schools to be established in September next year to keep pace with population growth.
The other new secondary schools will be established in Dunshaughlin, Co Meath (600 students), Gorey, Co Wexford (500 students) and Ballincollig, Co Cork (600 students).
A parent survey in these areas will be conducted shortly to decide which sponsor will run each of these schools on an ongoing basis.
The school in South County Dublin will be based on a three-acre site on Newtownpark Avenue that was purchased by the Department of Education in 2018 for € 8 million.
It includes a two-story period home known as the Abilene that was owned by the prominent Findlater business family for nearly 80 years.
It was built in 1790 and originally served as a farmhouse on the Proby Estate. Several outbuildings were added over the years and the main house was expanded in the 1950s.
This site will house a new 1,000-student post-primary school, including four classrooms for students with special educational needs.
The new school in Dunshaughlin is likely to be located on land that the department is currently acquiring, while the search for sites for the schools in Gorey and Ballincollig is ongoing.
Delayed
The department has also announced that plans to establish three more new schools in the Dublin area next year have been delayed until 2022.
These schools were to be established in the Dublin2 / 4, Donaghmede / Howth, and Sallynoggin / Killiney / Cherrywood areas and were to open next September.
The department said these plans have been postponed due to a variety of factors, including delays in planned residential development or sufficient capacity at existing schools in the area.
He said work will continue in the meantime to advance housing the schools in preparation for 2022.
Meanwhile, Education Minister Norma Foley has invited school sponsoring bodies to apply for sponsorship of the four new post-primary schools to be established in September 2021.
“This is an unusual and challenging time for school sponsors and school communities,” he said.
“It is important that the sponsorship process for post-elementary schools opening in 2021 be conducted as normally as possible, giving sponsors the opportunity to apply to run the new schools and parents the opportunity to express their preference. on the customer’s choice “.
Prospective clients have been asked to complete an application form available on the department’s website before the deadline that expires at 3 p.m. on October 21.
Online sponsorship process
Following this, the department will open its online sponsorship process website, which allows parents to vote on their preferred sponsorship model for their children’s education.
An independent new school establishment group will make a recommendation on the successful sponsor to the Minister.
In total, a total of 45 new schools are being built between 2019 and 2022 to cater for population growth.
The areas of influence for most of these schools have been previously announced. However, the decision to add Dunshaughlin and Gorey to the list of planned schools follows an updated review of demographics at the post-primary level.
The first phase of these schools is expected to be planned for 500 to 600 places with the possibility of the schools being expanded to 1000 places in future phases to cater for further growth.
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