FIVE teachers from a Cork primary school will participate in this year’s Cork City Marathon to raise funds for a redevelopment project for their school that requires a significant injection of funding.

As part of their participation in the Cork City Marathon, a GoFundMe campaign has been set up to raise funds for Scoil Realt na Mara, in Ballycotton.

Scoil Realt na Mara is a co-educational mixed school which currently has 84 students. Their school principal Eilís Casey said each member of the team will run a leg of the marathon. 

“Five staff members from the school are running the relay to raise funds for a redevelopment project to replace a dilapidated prefab that is unfit for purpose at this stage. I’m going from a coach potato to running 7.4 kilometres of the Cork City Marathon. 

"I feel so very fortunate as principal because I am surrounded by the most proactive and motivated team. They are really committed to the school, and they were eager to get the ball rolling,” she said.

The primary school principal said they have ambitious plans as part of the redevelopment project. 

“The school celebrated its centenary in 2010. It was extended in 1999 and then we had another extension in 2019 so the space is available for redevelopment. 

"In the school, we have been focussing on the health and wellbeing of our students in recent years and the board of management agree that bringing this project to fruition really would have a positive effect on all the stakeholders in the school, the students, teachers, and parents.

“The vision is to replace the prefab with another temporary structure comprising of four separate rooms. The school is involved in the Creative Schools Programme which is a two-year programme. 

"We want a kitchen with workbenches for the children. The board values the development of the children and the children have expressed for some time the desire to cook and bake at the school.

“We currently have no staff room, and we would love a staff room. We also don’t have an office for holding discreet meetings with outside services or parents and we need a store for PE equipment,” she added.

Ms Casey said the fundraising will require a huge undertaking, but the finished project will be there for generations to come. 

“It will take more than one activity to raise the required funds. This is a start, and we are all looking forward to getting stuck in. We feel strongly about trying to make this a reality for the children of Scoil Realt na Mara NS, but funding is a real obstacle. 

"We are aiming to raise €50,000 to get the project off the ground. We have a GoFundMe page set up and all money raised is going to the redevelopment work.

“We are going to maintain the fundraising drive now. We have a fabulous community here and the parents are wonderful so we will keep thinking of different activities. The redevelopment work will be for the generations to come and for the betterment of all,” she added.