President in Athboy on Friday

The President, Michael D Higgins, will visit Athboy on Friday morning of this week to officially open the new Athboy Community School building, which opened to students last November. The new school is one of six in the country to be built to high specifications under a new public private partnership (PPP) scheme. It replaces the 2004-amalgamated convent secondary school and Athboy Vocational School, and can accommodate 950 students. Facilities include 21 general classrooms, three woodwork/architectural technology rooms, two engineering rooms, two home economics rooms with a dedicated dress design room, three art rooms, five science rooms, three multi-media rooms and a fully equipped gym and fitness suite. It also has dedicated rooms for music, mathematics, social studies, business, religious education, technical graphics, a library and parents'/guardians' room, hard court playing areas and a full-size soccer pitch. The new building also incorporates a special needs unit which will provide for students with special needs and allow for access to mainstream classes as required. The music/drama room opens out onto the general purpose area and a seated courtyard, allowing for performances to reach a greater audience. It will be the President's second visit to Meath following his trip to Navan at the end of February.