New two-school campus in expanding Cork town will cater for 1,500 pupils   

THE development of a two-school campus for Le Chéile and Gaelscoil an Chaisleáin is set to begin, after a compulsory purchase order for a site in Lisheens, Ballincollig, was confirmed.

The two schools, a secondary school with 130 pupils which opened in 2021, and an Irish-speaking primary school that opened in 2017 and has 175 pupils, are currently operating from temporary buildings and accommodation in the town.

Population 

The provision of new premises will allow for 1,000 pupils in Le Chéile and 500 in Gaelscoil an Chaisleáin, as the population of Ballincollig is estimated to grow significantly over the coming years.

The Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) of the site was contested, but board inspector Jimmy Green said in his report that the two schools’ current premises were not sufficient in the long run, and that the opening of larger premises was necessary to serve the growing community.

The Gaelscoil is located within the grounds of Ballincollig Rugby Club in single-storey prefab structures, and all facilities are on the grounds of the rugby club, with vehicular access and car parking shared.

Le Chéile secondary school is located adjacent to the Ballincollig Community School pitches and is accommodated in a modern two-storey prefabricated structure.

Mr Green noted that it “does not have significant grounds, and the site is limited and restrictive and does not lend itself to expansion”.

His report said: “The existing operations of the schools have clearly emerged from necessity to provide for the educational needs of existing pupils in Ballincollig.

“While the locations are innovative in terms of making use of available space, neither site presents a viable permanent solution for the provision of permanent school accommodation and facilities for the student numbers required by the needs assessment of the department, which shows a requirement to provide a 1,000-student secondary school and a 500-pupil primary school.

“The existing sites are not suitable as permanent schools due to their restricted size, nature of the accommodation, and the existing tenure over the sites.”

Oral Hearing

An oral hearing was held in March 2023, as landowners had objected to the CPO of the 15-hectare site, saying it was “taking an excessive amount of land based on an inefficient layout” and suggesting other sites be considered.

In his closing statement at the hearing, Mr Esmond Keane, special counsel acting on behalf of Cork City Council, said: “The lands are required; their acquisition is proportionate; the council is not seeking to acquire any more land than is required by the common good.

“The provision of additional school facilities is an undisputed requirement; the relevant schools are on short-term leases with great uncertainty in terms of their continuation of operations in their current locations.

“It is hard to think of a more urgent need for the common good than to provide for the educational needs of the youth of Ballincollig.”

On Monday, An Bord Pleanála officially approved the CPO for the Lisheens site.

Welcome

Le Chéile welcomed the news, telling parents in a letter shared with The Echo: “We are delighted to share the news that An Bord Pleanála have approved the site purchase at Lisheens, which will become our permanent home.”

The building of the school will be delivered through the Accelerated Delivery of Architectural Planning and Tendering Programme.

An external project manager, who has been appointed, will co-ordinate and drive the design team to achieve the best possible timeframe during the stages of architectural planning.

The secondary school will consist of 37 general classrooms, six science laboratories, two art and craft rooms, two home economics rooms, a textiles room, four construction/ engineering/technology rooms, a design graphics room, music room, and two multimedia rooms.

In addition to classrooms, there will be a library, a dining room, pupil relaxation areas, a meditation room, six hard play courts, a PE hall, three equipment stores, and two changing rooms, fitness suite, and pitch areas.

Six additional educational needs base rooms, all including a safe space, activity rooms for AEN students, a secure soft play area, and a sensory garden are also included in the plan.

Finally, there will be 16 offices for the principal, deputy principals, guidance counsellors, year heads, special tuition, first aid, and caretaker, as well as a general office and staff room, as well as 92 car parking spaces.

Letter

The letter from the principal to parents read: “We very much look forward to providing top-class facilities for both our current and future students.

“Thank you for placing your trust in us to provide your child with their secondary school education, especially given the uncertainty we have had over these initial years.”

Le Chéile principal Nicola Barrett told The Echo: “Our school currently has about 130 students. We started with 18 in 2021. Given the uncertainty of our permanent site up to now and opening the school mid-pandemic, we have achieved an awful lot in a very short period of time.”