Tag Archives: school

Clare County Council has granted permission for a major expansion project at Ennis Community College and Gaelcholáiste an Chláir. The planners made their decision on Wednesday, having received applications on behalf of the school from Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board. “We are thrilled with the decision to grant permission for this development”, said the school principal Brian O’Donoghue. “The project will see a build of over 4,100 square metres. It includes multiple classrooms and specialist rooms such as science labs. Also included is a full size state of the art sports hall. We have been in Ennis since 1938 and this is a very significant development which will greatly benefit our students and the community of Ennis.” Construction is expected to begin in the coming months.

PLANS for a new primary school in Knockanean, developed by the architects behind the state laboratory and other high-profile buildings, have been lodged with Clare County Council. The proposals put forward by the Office of Public Works for the new two-storey school are awaiting validation by the local authority to enable to planning process to commence. The development plans consist of a new two-storey primary school building with a gross floor area of approximately 2,535m², accommodation consisting of 16 classrooms, a general purpose room, a library/resource room and ancillary accommodation. The existing four-classroom block is to be incorporated into the new school plans. The proposal also includes the re-location of the existing gated vehicular entrance and a new gated vehicular and pedestrian entrance is proposed off the Knockanean Road boundary, serving 24 on-site car-parking spaces and associated set-down areas, pedestrian pathways together with two ball courts, play areas, a bin store, a bicycle shelter, three flagpoles, connection to existing foul drainage …

See our special feature on Summer Camps for children.     Click here to read online.

TRANSITION year students of St Flannan’s College are ‘banking’ on continuing last year’s success in the AIB Build a Bank Challenge. Last year the school made it to the regional finals of the competition, and by all ‘accounts’ this year’s efforts are also on the money. The six students have been running their own school bank, with the support of the AIB, while also learning about managing their own business. This year’s banking team at the school involves Gerard Kennedy, manager; Cian Murphy, assistant manager; Jane Fitzgerald, financial controller; Nina Koistinen, sales and marketing executive and Michael Ryan and Colin Reidy, both customer care representatives. According to 15 year-old Nina, more than 60 students at the school have already opened up an account with the school bank, with that figure expected to grow even more. The challenge sees a team of six students selected to set up and manage a bank in their school, getting involved in everything from sourcing …

IT’S back to school for thousands of primary and second level pupils in Clare tomorrow after the Christmas holidays. This will mean a considerable increase in the level of traffic and pedestrians on the roads in the morning and evening. With bad weather conditions expected to continue, resulting in flooding and surface water on roads, both motorists and pedestrians should be especially vigilant.  Motorists should follow the simple guide of slow down and expect the unexpected, while pedestrians should  be alert in crossing roads, especially at busy junctions. Also, they should observe lights at junctions and other crossings.  

ST Joseph’s Secondary School in Tulla is one step closer to moving to a new site. A planning application for their proposed 650-pupil school was lodged with Clare County Council last week. The secondary school, which has been educating young people from the heart of Tulla village since 1985, is set to move to a new green-field 10 acre site on Chapel Street, 700m south-west of the existing site. The project, which is part of a public-private partnership and is part of the school bundle four programme facilitated by the National Development Finance Agency, is expected to start in the last quarter of 2014. Construction is expected to take up to 18 months, with an outer completion date of March 2016. The capital value of the school bundle four programme, which covers the development of six schools, is €65 million excluding VAT. School principal Margaret O’Brien said the reality of what is to come is starting to sink in among …