New £5 million St Bronagh’s Primary School and Youth Centre officially opened

The brand new award winning accommodation at St Bronagh’s Primary School and Youth Centre in Rostrevor officially opened today.
The joint project sees the development of a seven classroom school which now caters for almost 200 pupils and a youth centre that hosts a range of programmes including sports, drama and arts for the local community.

Deputy Secretary of the Department of Education, Fiona Hepper, performed the official opening by unveiling plaques in both the school and the youth centre. She said: “It gives me great pleasure to be here today to officially open St Bronagh’s Primary School and Youth Centre. This £5 million investment delivers significant and positive change to the daily life of pupils, teachers and the wider community. At St Bronagh’s Primary School and Youth Centre a new chapter begins with brand new eco-friendly accommodation for our young people to enjoy and flourish."

John Gallagher, school Principal, said: “As a staff and a school community we are thrilled to be able to have this beautiful building in a wonderful setting to encourage an atmosphere of learning. Our pupils were very involved in the design process and met with the architects during development to share their ideas. Our work with the design team contributed to us achieving Ambassador Eco-School Status in 2018; a very prestigious recognition of our environmental ethos. We were also thrilled to learn that the building has since won a prestigious RUSA Design Award – the Liam McCormick Prize for Building of the Year 2018.”

Notes to editors:

1. Ganson UK was appointed in March 2016 to take forward the construction of the new school and youth centre.
2. St Bronagh’s Primary School was completed in September 2017 and the youth centre was completed in June 2018.
3. In May 2018, St Bronagh's Primary School won the Sustainability Award and the Liam McCormick Prize for Building of the Year at the RSUA Design Awards.
4. Mr Paul McMahon from Donnelly/O’Neill won Project Architect of the year for his work on the school.
5. Media enquiries to the Department of Education Press Office Tel: 028 9127 9207. Out of office hours, contact the Duty Press Officer number 028 9037 8110 and your call will be returned.
6. Follow us on Twitter @Education_NI and our new Facebook page, Department of Education Northern Ireland.

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