New High School plan approved
Thursday, 30 October 2008
BALLYMONEY High School (BHS) has got the go ahead from the Department of Education (DE) for a brand new state of the art school to be built at the site of the current school on the Garryduff Road.
The approval of the Outline Business Case means that the Project Board will now seek interested bidders from the private sector to design, build, finance, operate and maintain the new school buildings. This is great news for a school's 700 plus pupils who can look forward to top facilities in the coming years as well as the over 80 teachers and staff that are employed at the school.
High School Headmaster Mr Rodney Scott was 'delighted' to make the announcement to the governors, staff, pupils parents and friend's of the school at the annual Prize Day held last Friday October 24.
He said, "In best live news form let me commence with the breaking good news that our school new build scheme has just been approved by the DE and we are authorised to embark upon the planning and procurement phases which will lead to the provision of a high standard new school building - a fitting home for this learning community. Several years' hard work are before us, but as governors and staff we will actively contribute our part and will appreciate the expertise and support of educational colleagues in bringing long held plans and dreams to fruition, for the benefit of our young people."
Mr Scott used the opportunity of the announcement to call for greater resourcing to be directed into secondary schools like Ballymoney High, who catered for the full ability range of pupils without selection.
Ballymoney High School is fed by almost thirty Primary Schools in the North Antrim and East Londonderry area with an intake of about 140 pupils each year. The current school building was built in 1961 and though the current building may yet make it to its fiftieth year before being demolished, a crucial step in the process has been taken.
Speaking to the Chronicle Mr Scott said "I would like to express my great pleasure that we are another step along the way now that the business case is approved. We are very excited and there is great anticipation of the benefits that these new facilities will bring. We are a forward looking school and with the revised curriculum this new building and facilities will help us deliver that curriculum to the young people."
He continued, "The new school will be on the existing site built on some of the grass football pitches and when the school is built, the old school will be demolished and that land will then be used for playing fields. Hopefully there will be a minimum disruption to pupils."
Not falling down
Mr Scott continued "It's not that the existing building is about to fall down, it is in good order and well maintained and facilities and equipment have been upgraded at the school at the past. The appraisal considered the cost of upgrading and the cost of building a new school and that appraisal deemed that it was more cost effective to build a new school here. There is sufficient land at the site for a new build."
BHS success may be in part related to that enrolment numbers are steady at the school while they are falling in many schools across the province
Mr Scott said "Our enrolment number is high and stable, we have 706 pupils; our annual admission number is 130 pupils plus 10 children with special needs. We have a full enrolment. This stability may have been one factor justifying the new build." There are 54 teachers at the school with around thirty other staff working in a variety of other roles.
Mr Scott has no precise details about the time scale, saying, "I am awaiting next contact from the Department of Education to find out how exactly the plan will go forward. We have no data on that at the moment. It will be a period of some years rather than months to get to the planning and building stage. I couldn't put a figure on it."
“The PPP and the DE will handle the administration side of the new build but we will play a part too. We can't just design a school ourselves it doesn't work like that, there are department guidelines and so on, but we will have room within that to put our ideas and we will do that when we have the opportunity."
DE comment
A spokesperson for the Department of Education said: "Ballymoney High School is currently involved in a Public Private Partnership project along with Rainey Endowed School, Magherafelt, which will provide a new build school for around 650 pupils, together with a unit for pupils with special needs, on the schools existing site. An Outline Business Case for the project has recently been approved by the Department of Education. The Project Board will now seek interested bidders from the private sector to design, build, finance, operate and maintain the new school buildings well into the 21st century."
