It could yet be another seven years at the very earliest before a new-build Tandragee Junior High School throws open its doors, Armagh I can reveal.
And that’s straight from the horse’s mouth, as it were, with Education Minister Paul Givan giving an update on all planned and promised school works announced over the past decade.
There have been multiple announcements to great fanfare over those 10 years by successive Education Ministers, pledging to invest over £1 billion into the Northern Ireland schools estate.
But many of these remain undelivered, lagging behind schedule, tied up in red tape and, in some cases, left to simmer on the back burner, filed away and marked simply as being ‘on hold’.
That latter label has been applied to St Catherine’s College in Armagh, St Paul’s High in Bessbrook and Killicomaine Junior High in Portadown.
Other schools – including Markethill High – continue to campaign for new-build facilities and have yet to be given any indication that their efforts will bear fruit.
Of the major schemes locally, Tandragee Junior High is expecting a new-build state-of-the-art development.
Just last month, Armagh I reported that the plans had taken a significant step forward, with confirmation that a technical feasibility report has been completed and a business case is now in development.
While Minister Givan said movement towards bringing the business case phase to a conclusion was “progress”, he cautioned: “We still need to progress through a number of stages to the point at which the works will be subject to capital funding being made available.”
It was in June 2020, just before the school summer holidays, that former Education Minister Peter Weir identified nine schools to ‘advance in design’ under the major capital works programme.
An investment of £156 million was announced for three primary schools and six post-primary.
The intention was to “ensure that all our young people are educated in school facilities which are safe, secure and fit-for-purpose, enabling them to receive the quality education experience required to help them to fulfil their potential”.
Tandragee Junior High was one of the nine named.
The current Minister’s update now indicates an estimated start date on the new Tandragee school as January 2030 – almost a decade after the announcement was made.
Mr Givan’s informed assessment is that the project would take two years to complete, if all goes according to plan, with an estimated completion date in January 2032.
St Mary’s Primary School, on the Derrymore Road, in Craigavon, was another of the nine to be served up a slice of that same cash cake.
Now, according to Mr Weir’s successor, work on the Craigavon school has been earmarked to start in August 2028 and should be completed by February 2030.
The biggest announcement of capital investment in locals schools in recent years in Northern Ireland came in March 2022.
Michelle McIlveen was the Minister in charge at the Department of Education at that time when the unveiled a huge cash pot of close to £800 million.
The money was to be spent on ‘major capital works’, with the former Minister signalling that 28 schools would advance to planning stage.
However, according to the update provided by the Minister, only seven of these have seen any progress.
Indeed, the remaining 21 schools celebrating their inclusion in the programme and expecting to see schemes progress now have their significant projects listed as being ‘on hold’.
These include St Catherine’s College in Armagh, St Paul’s High School in Bessbrook and Killicomaine Junior High School in Portadown.
Among the seven still listed is Portadown College, where Minister Givan expects works to start in December 2028 and be finished by March 2031.
The development of Dromore High School is scheduled for a start in April 2029 with completion in August 2031.
In 2016, former Education Minister John O’Dowd announced major works and new-builds for 10 Northern Ireland primary schools in a written statement to the Assembly.
Almost a decade later, none of these have been completed, but progress is expected in the next few years.
The £40 million package included St Malachy’s Primary School in Armagh.
The existing school at Chapel Lane has already closed, to facilitate demolition and a start to works, with the pupils to be relocated to the former St Brigid’s High site while the new-build takes shape.
According to the information supplied by the Minister, the new building is expected to be completed by January 2028.
Meanwhile, according to the Ministerial update, work is expected to begin at King’s Park Primary in Lurgan in July 2028, with completion anticipated in October 2030.
The capital investment at St Peter’s Primary at Collegelands is expected to start in May 2026, with works scheduled for completion by October of the following year.
Irish language school Gaelscoil Aodha Rua, based in Dungannon, was also included in the 2016 announcement. The scheme there is expected to begin in April 2027 and completed by June 2028.
Four projects were announced in 2018 under the Fresh Start Agreement, and subsequently transferred to the major capital programme in June 2024.
These included a new-build school for Integrated College Dungannon.
According to the information provided by Minister Givan, work would be expected to start in November 2026 and completed by November 2029.
All of the dates and information were provided in response to a written question by Newry and Armagh SDLP MLA Justin McNulty.
And in advising of the dates and estimates, the Education Minister was at pains to point out that the timeframes are far from written in stone.
“The anticipated start dates are based on the current project programmes, however these dates may be impacted by a number of factors including statutory planning, lands and budget availability,” said Mr Givan in response.
“In regard to the latter, whilst I will continue to make the case for additional and sustained capital investment in our schools across Northern Ireland, regrettably difficult decisions continue to be made as to what can proceed within the budget envelope available to me in any given year.
“It should therefore be noted that anticipated start dates for projects – other than those already on site or due to commence this financial year – are indicative only.”
