EDUCATION Minister Norma Foley has turned the sod on a state-of-the art Cork campus, one of largest single projects ever undertaken by the Department of Education.

Construction of the new three-school campus in Carrigtwohill is expected to be completed in 2023, and the campus will serve over 2,000 students from the locality.

The Cork Carrigtwohill School Campus will include two schools operating under the auspices of Cork Education and Training Board (ETB), Carrigtwohill Community College and Carrigtwohill Community National School.

A third school, Scoil Mhuire Naofa, operating under the patronage of the Catholic Bishop of Cloyne, will also be located on the campus.

The new Carrigtwohill Community College building will provide accommodation for 1,000 students, and each of the primary schools will have 24 mainstream classes as well as a unit for three special education classes.

Minister for Education Norma Foley congratulated the local community and paid tribute to all involved for their persistence and determination to bring a project of such scale to fruition.

“It was an honour and a privilege to turn the sod at the multi-million-euro development in Carrigtwohill,” Ms Foley said.

“This transformative project that will provide the local community with a 1,000 pupil second-level community school and two primary schools with 24 classrooms each.

'AMBITIOUS'

“This is the most ambitious project ever undertaken by the Department of Education and I look forward to the works completing at pace,” the minister said.

Denis Leamy, chief executive of Cork ETB, thanked the Department of Education for its substantial investment in the project.

“I am delighted to have welcomed Minister Foley to Carrigtwohill to mark what is an extremely significant milestone in the construction of the Carrigtwohill School Campus,” Mr Leamy said.

“I would also like to pay tribute to the Department of Education for their significant investment in this project, it once again illustrates their long-standing commitment to the improvement of educational provision in Cork city and county.” Mr Leamy said that, upon completion, the Carrigtwohill School Campus will serve the primary and post-primary education needs of the greater Carrigtwohill area, which has seen rapid population growth in recent years.

“This new campus and its exceptional facilities will have an enormously positive impact far and wide across the community,” he said.

“We look forward to the completion of the construction work and are excited at the prospect to welcoming staff and students in the 2023 academic year.”

Ms Foley also attended Nano Nagle Place, where she launched Cork ETB’s Arts in Education Strategy 2022-2026.

The strategy outlines a framework for the promotion of the arts and supporting their implementation throughout all of Cork ETB’s primary, post primary and further education and training facilities.

Speaking at the launch, Ms Foley praised Cork ETB for their efforts to enable better integration and promotion of the arts in their education entities.