Decision to reverse school move seen as ‘a step in right direction’
By Hayden Moore
THE decision to move Griffeen Community College approximately 7km away to Kingswood Community College has been reversed by the Department of Education and has been hailed as “a step in the right direction” by a parent.
Last Friday, a spokesperson from the Department told The Echo that they would “re-evaluate” options in relation to the issue after parents, the school and local politicians expressed their dissatisfaction with the decision.
Griffeen Community College are housed in Kishoge
Now after taking their time to “re-evaluate”, the Department of Education have revealed they have reversed the decision – instead opting to house the school in its current location in Kishoge Community College, which will be adapted to accommodate the school.
Lynda Slater, who has a 12-year-old in First Year in Griffeen CC, expressed her delight with the reversal of the move.
“It’s great news and parents will continue to try get a school built for the kids as soon as possible. This is the right move for now but it’s only the beginning,” she told The Echo.
“It is brilliant that they will be kept locally and it’s exactly what’s needed because the kids love it there and the parents love it there.
“We believe completely in what they’re doing in Griffeen.
“It’s a step in the right direction but at the end of the day, they need their own school building – prefabs are a start but they really do need their own purpose-built classrooms.”
Just last week, Dublin and Dun Laoghaire Education and Training Board (DDLETB) operating under the advice of the Department had made a decision to move Griffeen CC out of Kishoge CC in September of this year.
Kingswood Community College
The school, who have over 260 students, has been housed in Kishoge CC since September 2017.
With Kishoge CC in need of the building to accommodate an influx in students joining the school, it is required that Griffeen CC vacate the building in some capacity to free up space.
As revealed to parents early last week, there were plans to move Griffeen CC to temporary accommodation at the Carline site in Lucan while they await the construction of a permanent building.
Following that decision, the Department then opted to move the entire school to the newly opened Kingswood Community College instead – which was followed by their decision to “re-evaluate” last Friday.
In a press statement this week, DDLETB explained how the costs for temporary accommodation were “deemed by the Department of Education to be prohibitive” in light of their decision to kickstart a Design and Build Project for Griffeen CC’s permanent building.
Although DLLETB await a programme from the Department of Education for the proposed delivery of the project, CEO of DDLETB Paddy Lavelle did reveal to The Echo last week that it would be completed in two stages.
Once the location has been identified and construction of the first phase is completed, DDLETB believe that students will be able to move in to the building before the second phase of construction begins.
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