Construction on Kingswood Community College expected to begin later this year
Aura McMenamin
Work on the planned Kingswood Community College is due to begin later this year, according to the Department of Education.
The school was due to open in September 2018 but earlier this year it was reported that this had been pushed back a year due to a delay in the tendering process.
It’s expected that the school will accept around 180 pupils by next September, meaning that as well as a permanent building, additional temporary buildings will have to be constructed.
John Lahart TD for Fianna Fáil submitted a question to the Minister for Education and Skills Richard Bruton if the permanent building would be built by next September.
Bruton replied: “The school is at an advanced stage of the tender process...it is envisaged that the project will commence on site later this year. “
However, the school will still open at the delayed deadline. Minister Bruton said: “As the construction period will be 24 months, the project will be scheduled for completion in 2019.”
In a statement, John Lahart said: “I know that this is a disappointment to parents and pupils alike given that 2018 was the original commencement date given by government. I will continue to press the government to ensure that this new deadline is met.”
He named the temporary buildings that would have to be added to facilitate the large 2018 intake, saying: “initial tenders have been drawn up for ten temporary classrooms, a Home Economics room, office spaces and hard playing surfaces.”
