Education Minister Michelle McIlveen has today made a statement to the Northern Ireland Assembly announcing 28 schools to advance in planning under the Major Capital Works Programme.
The schools will benefit from an estimated capital investment of £794m.
Ballymena Academy, Cambridge House Grammar School, Carrickfergus Academy, Larne High School, Larne Grammar, Ballyclare High School, and Ballyclare Secondary School are among the 28 schools to benefit.
In the statement to the Assembly, the Education Minister said:
“I have visited many schools and witnessed first-hand not only the tremendous work that takes place in each and every school, but also the need for an appropriate level of investment in the fabric of our schools, whether this is a new building, the extension and refurbishment of existing school buildings, or through a programme of smaller scale minor capital works.
“Such investment is essential to provide the first class educational experience our pupils, staff and wider school communities both deserve and need to ensure our young people can achieve their full potential.
“I fully understand that there are many competing pressures for the Capital Budget available to me and indeed on the capacity to deliver, however I believe it is important to keep a focus on the future and through my announcement today I hope to bring some much needed good news not just to schools and their wider school communities, but also the contractors and professionals in the construction industry and indeed the wider economy, which I expect will benefit from this announcement.
“Whilst construction spend on the projects I will soon announce will not be realised until the end of this decade at the earliest, making this announcement today will ensure a steady pipeline of projects in design which will in turn ensure the continued modernisation of the schools’ estate into the future.
“In making this announcement today, it is my intention that these projects would be taken through to construction.
“However, I should stress that authorisation to proceed to construction on any individual project will be based on the level of capital funding available at the point when a design is complete and all necessary approvals have been secured.
“The projects I have announced today to advance in planning will benefit over 25,000 pupils across the schools estate. These projects have been carefully selected in line with my Department’s strategy for capital investment, which continues to be shaped by the outworking of area planning and the delivery of a modern fit-for-purpose estate of viable and sustainable schools.”
The full list of schools which will advance in planning from this announcement are:
Ballyclare High School
Ballyclare Secondary School
Ballymena Academy
Belfast High School
Cambridge House, Ballymena
Carrickfergus Academy
Dean Maguirc College
Dromore High School
Edmund Rice, Newtownabbey
Friends' School Lisburn
Hunterhouse College, Belfast
Killicomaine Junior High School
Larne Grammar
Larne High School
Lisnagarvey High School, Lisburn
Loreto College, Coleraine
Lumen Christi College, Londonderry
Malone Integrated College, Belfast
Mercy College, Belfast
Portadown College
Sperrin Integrated College, Magherafelt
St Brigid's College, Londonderry
St Catherine's College, Armagh
St Ciaran's College, Dungannon
St Joseph's College, Belfast
St Louise's Comprehensive College, Belfast
St Paul's High School, Newry
St Pius X College, Magherafelt.