Outdated building leads to demands for new national school in Duleek

A major campaign to institute a Duleek school as an urgent case for replacement by the Department of Education and Science because of space problems and safety issues is underway. Duleek Boys’ National School board of management secretary (and school principal) Gerry Conroy has told the Minister for Education that the school, in conjunction with the local girls’ school, has purchased four acres of land adjoining the existing school site for the development of the schools. “We are at a critical stage with regard to growing numbers and lack of space and already have four pre-fabs on site,” he said. He added there were also issues regarding safety at the school because of the lack of parking accommodation, a fact mentioned by inspectors in the recent Whole School Evaluation Report of 30th September this year, but not yet published. The school has 314 pupils on its roll and this will entitle the school to another teacher next year but Mr Conroy says they have no room for this teacher. He said that, in March 2006, the Department had told the school it would have two 16-teacher schools built but did not put a timescale on it. “In the intervening years, we have taken pupils from our catchment area and we hope to be in a position to continue this practice. The board of management feels that now that the land has been acquired, the school should be regarded as an urgent case for development,” Mr Conroy added. Setting out the school’s case, he said that it had 11 mainstream teachers, five of whom were in “unsatisfactory rooms built in 1984”; two were teaching classes of 30 pupils each in rooms that were 39 square metres and without toilet facilities. “Indeed, the toilets they use were built in 1953 and are totally unsuitable.” Four teachers are working in pre-fab buildings, he said. In addition, there is a serious lack of playing space, and language support and learning support teachers were working in “very unsuitable rooms”, one in a storeroom which contained all the ESB boards. The school has no computer room, meeting room, library, resource room or storage space. The office being used by the school secretary was totally unsuitable. The staff room was also totally unsuitable and there were no parking spaces for parents “leading to a potentially very serious situation each day”. Cllr Jimmy Cudden said he would be bringing a motion to the next meeting of the Slane Electoral Area Council asking his colleagues for support to bring the issue to the Minister for Education “as a matter of urgency”. He said: “The village of Duleek has expanded greatly over the last few years and there is a genuine need for a new school.” He said that the school manager, Fr John Conlon, had arranged the purchase of four acres of land and what they needed now was for the Department to commit itself to a date for the building of new school accommodation for Duleek. “The present situation in which the children and their teachers are in totally inadequate accommodation just can’t continue. I will be asking my colleagues on the Slane council to get behind this effort for a new school,” he said.