Campaign grows for Educate Together secondary school

Parents pushing for a second level Educate Together School for Galway are to meet with local TDs next week as part of their continuing campaign.

Representatives of the Galway Educate Together Second-Level Startup Group (GET2LS) will meet with local TDs next Monday – ahead an anticipated announcement expected on the outcome of the Department of Education and Skills’ mid-term review of its school building programme.

This review will determine what additional schools, both primary and post-primary will open over the next number of years.

“Galway was not included in the last round of new post-primary schools announced by the then Minister for Education and Skills in November 2015, despite the year on year increase in student numbers during the years immediately prior to 2015,” notes GET2LS PRO Maggie Hall.

“Since 2015, student numbers have continued to grow at both primary and post-primary levels and by 2019, Galway post-primary student numbers will exceed available capacity.

“It is critical therefore that the Department plans for this scenario by including a new post-primary school for Galway in the forthcoming announcement. This will cater for the projected population increase in the Galway area in the coming decade,” she added.

The group said that the 2016 census figures showed an increase of over 3,000 in Galway City and suburbs population over the 2011 census figures.

The Government’s recently issued National Planning Framework document, Project Ireland 2040, projects that Galway’s population will continue to grow to 120,000 by 2040 from its current 80,000 figure – an increase of 50% in the next 20 years.

Since Educate Together was recognised as a second-level patron in 2012, it has opened nine new post-primary schools, with four more opening this year.

With Educate Together post-primary schools now in Cork, Limerick, and Dublin, and with five Educate Together primary schools in County Galway, GET2LS representatives say that the lack of a post-primary option in Galway is increasingly glaring.