“Serious and ongoing issues” with an Armagh school were raised in the NI Assembly with the Education Minister being called on to “work with the school” to address the issues they face.
Speaking to structural and maintenance issues within St Patrick’s Grammar School – which was originally constructed in 1838 – Sinn Féin MLA Cathal Boylan spoke to members on Tuesday (October 7) to explain the findings of a meeting with the school’s staff.
Mr Boylan detailed the school’s “longstanding history” in Armagh which he said had been “developed and added to over the years” and is now home to over 850 pupils and 120 staff.
Preparing to address the building’s problematic wear-and-tear – of which he has witnessed first-hand – he said: “However with any longstanding building comes issues with regards to maintenance and upkeep… and St Patrick’s is no different.”
Explained Mr Boylan: “Both the original school building and the two-storey wing of the school which was added on in 1907 are uninsulated and are therefore having an impact on the school’s interior.
“Areas of the external render are cracked and moisture is subsequently being trapped and sealed within the walls causing issues internally with dampness.
“Majorly, the windows and heating system within the school are much in need of attention. The heating in the school is primarily a one-pipe system and is inefficient to operate.
“The boiler and pumps are far away from the 1907 block and there is a large volume of water required to be heated and fed through the system. The staff tell me the radiators never get hot.”
Mr Boylan informed members that following the meeting on September 26, with the architects, the design team and the Education Authority it was noted that the team had explored various options which would be issued to the Department for Education’s consideration.
He continued: “I am therefore using my time here today to call on the Education Minister to urgently review the recommendations that have been made and work with the school to overcome the issues they face.
“In closing, I must commend the staff for their best efforts to ensure these issues do not effect the learning needs of their pupils… however they deserve a safe and healthy environment to learn and study in.
“The need for the Department and EA to provide a comfortable environment is paramount.”
In September, the SDLP MLA for Newry and Armagh Justin McNulty wrote to the Education Minister for detail into the capital funding allocated for the refurbishment or replacement of school buildings in the Newry and Armagh constituency in each of the last five years and asked how this compares to other constituencies.
The Minister provided statistics indicating that for the 2024/25 period, the constituency of Newry and Armagh received the lowest funding allocated for school refurbishment that it has had in the last five years.
In 2020/21 the area received a total of £10,077,096, in 2021/22 it received £15,757,186, in 2022/23 it was given £12,392,381, in 2023/24 the total was £13,853,268 and then for 2024/25 the funding decreased to £7,921,770… almost half the budget of 2021/22.
Combined, this totals £60,001,701 for the five year period.
Comparatively, only five constituencies have received more than the Newry and Armagh award in the last five years… those being East Londonderry, Fermanagh & South Tyrone, Mid Ulster, South Down and Upper Bann.
