Construction of historic campus underway and due for completion in 2023
Cork Education and Training Board and the Catholic Diocese of Cloyne were joined by Education Minister Norma Foley, T.D., on Friday to celebrate a significant milestone in the construction of a new three-school campus in Carrigtwohill that will be home to over 2,000 students from the locality upon completion.
Minister for Education Norma Foley turned the sod at the site of the Carrigtwohill School Campus, paving the way on one of the largest single projects ever undertaken by the Department of Education.
The site will include two schools operating under the auspices of Cork Education and Training Board – Carrigtwohill Community College and Carrigtwohill Community National School. A third school, Scoil Mhuire Naofa, Campus under the patronage of the Catholic Bishop of Cloyne, will also be located on the Campus. All three schools will have state of the art facilities that will allow students to optimise their opportunity to learn.
The new Carrigtwohill Community College building will provide accommodation for 1,000 students. Each of the primary schools will have 24 mainstream classes as well as a unit for 3 special education classes.
Minister for Education Norma Foley congratulated the local community and paid tribute to all involved for their persistence and determination to bring a project of such scale to fruition.
She said: “It was an honour and a privilege to turn the sod at the multi-million euro development in Carrigtwohill. This transformative project that will provide the local community with a 1,000 pupil second-level community school and two primary schools with 24 classrooms each. This is the most ambitious project ever undertaken by the Department of Education and I look forward to the works completing at pace.”
Chief Executive of Cork Education and Training Board Denis Leamy, thanked the Department of Education for their substantial investment in the project.
Mr. Leamy said that the construction of the new campus represented “one of the most important developments for education in Cork in recent years.”
He added: “I am delighted to have welcomed Minister Foley to Carrigtwohill to mark what is an extremely significant milestone in the construction of the Carrigtwohill School Campus. I would also like to pay tribute to the Department of Education for their significant investment in this project, it once again illustrates their long-standing commitment to the improvement of educational provision in Cork city and county.
Mr. Leamy concluded: “Upon completion, The Carrigtwohill School Campus will serve the primary and post primary education needs of the greater Carrigtwohill area – an area which has seen rapidly growing populations over the last number of years and this new campus and its exceptional facilities will have an enormously positive impact far and wide across the community. We look forward to the completion of the construction work and are excited at the prospect to welcoming staff and students in the 2023 academic year!.
Minister Foley also attended Nano Nagle Place in the city in the afternoon where she launched Cork ETB’s Arts in Education Strategy 2022-2026.
The Arts in Education Strategy outlines the importance of the arts and provides a framework for arts education and the promotion of the arts and supporting their implementation throughout all of Cork ETB’s primary, post primary and further education and training facilities.
The implementation plan includes the following five key points and their respective objectives:
- Awareness: develop and create a space for the Arts in all its forms
- Inclusivity: to promote and deploy Arts Education as a valuable tool for promoting social inclusion, community engagement, well-being and fostering lifelong learning
- Partnership: develop existing relationships while nurturing the development of new partnerships and joint ventures
- Value: to foster and promote creativity by encouraging schools and centre’s to give parity of esteem to creative subjects
- Quality: provision of appropriate supports and resources to provide for quality teaching and learning in the Arts
Progress for the strategy will be monitored and reported on a continuous basis, and its roll-out will be in line with Cork ETB’s Strategy Statement 2022-2026.
Speaking at the launch, Minister Foley praised Cork ETB for their efforts to enable better integration and promotion of the arts in their education entities.
She said: “It was a joy for me to be invited to launch the Cork Education and Training Board’s Arts in Education Strategy 2022 – 2026. I strongly believe that inclusive access to the arts can nurture, inspire and innovate all our students and young learners. The Arts in Education Strategy today clearly identifies Cork ETB’s commitment to the arts and provides a framework for the way forward for all stakeholders. It was a pleasure to officially launch this milestone strategy in the presence of such vibrant performers and talented musicians. ”
Cork ETB is also delighted that Minister Foley approved the establishment of the Local Creative Youth Partnerships (LCYP) in Cork ETB, as part of the 2nd round of pilot LCYP’s. Funding for 2023 was confirmed to Cork ETB earlier this week, which will further develop creative opportunities for young people across Cork.
The LCYPs combine a wide range of resources to develop and provide out-of-school creative activities for children and young people that complement and work with the formal school settings. The LCYP partnerships will bring together Cork ETB, local authorities, the non-formal education sector and local cultural and creativity resources.
For further information on Cork Education and Training Board, visit www.corketb.ie
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