NEW- PDF Link to Article Approval for Rush school plan by Department of Education and Skills: 10th August
Article Approval for Rush school plan by DES.pdf
The Board of Management is delighted to announce that the the Department Of Education and Skills has issued the Draft Design Brief for our new school campus.This great achievement is the result of a huge community effort in Rush involving many people - especially parents, Rush Stands Up, students and staff. While we have every reason to celebrate, the work has to begin now and we will continue to engage with all of the community as we embark on the design and construction phase of the new school. But for now, we thank everyone who has been instrumental in arriving at this great place.
Contents of Article-
Approval for Rush school plan by Department of Education and Skills
St. Joseph’s Secondary School welcomes very positive development for community of Rush
Rush, Co. Dublin – 10 August 2020: In a major positive development for the community of Rush, the Department of Education and Skills has informed St. Joseph’s Secondary School Rush of its approval for a new school campus. As a result, plans will now be put in place for the development of the designated campus on 13 acres of land adjacent to St Maur’s GAA Club, 2.4 kilometres from the school’s present location in Convent Lane in the centre of the town.
It is anticipated that the new campus will be completed in time for the 2023/24 academic year. This significant development ensures that the community of Rush will have a leading-edge educational and sporting facilities for many years to come.
The immediate benefit of the new campus relates to capacity. St Joseph’s Secondary school will be a 1,000 student school with the potential to increase capacity by one third. There are currently 848 students enrolled in St Joseph’s Secondary School on a 3.5 acre site, originally designed in 1961 to cater for 375 students. Presently, the school is housed in the original building with 19 added prefab units and is awaiting the delivery of another four modular units.
St. Joseph’s secondary school will be co-located on a contemporary educational campus with Gaelscoil Ros Eo. The potential synergies arising from a shared services approach between St. Joseph’s Secondary School and Gaelscoil Ros Eo will be explored in the early stages of design. On completion of the construction works, there will be two separate schools operating on one expanded site.
There are many new educational facilities and other amenities in the new St. Joseph’s Community School, which are now possible due to the space available. These will include:
- 4-classroom Special Education Suite, including hard and soft play area
- 6 science laboratories
- 6 specialist rooms including Music/Multimedia; Home Economics; Design and Communication Graphics; Technology; and Art.
- Dining area and catering facility
- School Library
- 6 Ball courts located in close proximity to changing rooms
- Full sized grass pitch
- Multi-Use Hall/Changing Rooms located adjacent parking areas and playing pitch, easily secured to facilitate community/out-of-hours uses. (Fingal model)
- PE Hall and Fitness Suite
Furthermore, there will be additional traffic-related benefits as the new site will facilitate safe drop off and access by walking and cycling.
Dr. James Reilly, Chairman of the Board of Management said: “This great achievement is the result of a huge community effort in Rush involving many people. I would like to acknowledge the school Principal Patricia Hayden and the members of the school Board who were tireless in their efforts to arrive at this important moment. We should acknowledge too the collaborative cross-party political support in the area for the project, as well as the former Minister for Education Joe McHugh TD, who we met with last November. While we have every reason to celebrate, the work has to begin now and we will continue to engage with all of the community as we embark on the design and construction phase of the new school. But for now, I thank everyone who has been instrumental in arriving at this great place.”
Ms. Patricia Hayden, Principal, St. Joseph’s Secondary school said: “We are delighted that the Department of Education has completed the site acquisition and has now informed us that we can proceed with our plans for the development of the new school. This is a great moment for the whole community in Rush, but particularly for our children and the future generation that will benefit from a modern fit-for-purpose education campus.”
“It is the culmination of a great deal of work on the part of many but most specifically the parents, students and staff connected to the school. Is it also important to acknowledge the effort of the Rush Stands Up committee and anyone involved in the campaign; our patron body CEIST; Fingal County Council; and led by our Chairman Dr. James Reilly, the school Board of Management. We should also acknowledge the support of local politicians, business, the church and the local community in general,” she said.
St. Joseph’s Secondary School has strong links with St. Maur’s GAA Club which has been hugely supportive of the school, so being proximate to the club will be beneficial to both club and school.
The school works closely Prosper Fingal and the parish of St Maur’s. St Joseph’s Secondary School is a Trinity College Access link school; and A College for Every Student School of Distinction. It is also linked with Fujitsu Ireland as part of Business in the Community programme.
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