New Longwood school gets go-ahead from government

After years of studying in prefabs, Longwood secondary school students can finally look forward to a new school after education officials approved the project. "St Fintina's Post-Primary new school will be a reality after many years of campaigning," said Ballivor county councillor Tracey McElhinney, who announced that St Fintina's multi-million euro building project for a 500-pupil school has been approved by the Department of Education and Skills. St Fintina's occupies a two-acre, prefab site in the centre of Longwood but the school has seen a surge in enrolment numbers, with around 60 each year, a figure that is increasing year-on-year. "The existing school consists mainly of prefabricated classrooms," she said. "There has been considerable investment by County Meath VEC but they badly need a complete new school. "I am delighted with this news. A 500-pupil school with full-size gymnasium will become a focal point for the community." St Fintina's has become a national leader for using technology in teaching and learning and has even featured on RTE News despite the prefabricated backdrop to their studies. Cllr McElhinney thanked the Minister for Education and Skills, Ruairí Quinn, who visited the school within weeks of his appointment and also visited the site of the new school. The new school at Longwood will be built on a recently-purchased site beside the new primary school and bounded by the river Blackwater. Fine Gael TD for Meath West, Ray Butler, also welcomed the news. "I am delighted that Longwood has been included in a list of schools which have gotten approval from the Department of Education for building projects. "A greenfield site at the school has been lying vacant for a number of years, much to the frustration of pupils, teachers and parents alike. "It's great news for the community that a new permanent school building will finally be built. There are a couple of more stages of the process to be completed, but I am hopeful that building can commence sooner rather than later," he said. "After many years of waiting for a new school, I am very relieved that this has finally come to pass. The majority of students are accommodated in prefabs at the moment. This should become a thing of the past once the new school building is completed," he added.