New era for Enfield

Six years after Meath's newest secondary school- Enfield Community College- opened its doors to its first students, the school community was thrilled to last week move in to their new state-of-the art school building which will cater for up to 1,000 students.

It is the school's fourth-and final- premises in its short history having started out in 2020 at the former ESB office- now the library and community hub- with just 33 students. Enfield Community College then moved to prefabs at the rear of the former ESB office, before making a third move to modular buildings on the current school site pending construction of their permanent building.

Last week's return to school saw the school's 800 students make move into their modern new school complete with all the latest technology. No blackboards or whiteboards in this school- all rooms have been equipped with digital interactive teaching boards, while a swipe of their student ID cards opens their lockers- no bulky padlocks or combination locks here.

School principal Shane Foley was delighted to welcome students to their brand new school and said to was incredible to see the students' reaction.

“Everyone was overwhelmed with what they were greeted with when they drove down into the new school. The grounds are fantastic; the landscaping is second to none. It is a beautiful campus and a lot were remarking that it was more like a college campus than a school.

“From starting out in 2020 in the old ESB building with 33 students, to 800 student walking through the doors of the new school, it has been a remarkable journey in a short space of time. JJ Rhatigan builders have provided the people of Enfield with an exceptional building of the highest standard for the education and the future generations of Enfield students and those from the surrounding areas.”

He added that the Department of Education and Skills have equipped all rooms to the highest standard. As well as general classrooms, specialist rooms include two art rooms, two home economics rooms, textile rooms, six science rooms, two information technology rooms, a woodwork room, engineering rooms, three Design and Communications Graphics rooms, a tech graphics room and construction studies room.

There are three ASD classes and new this year is a moderate class and these four classes have their own dedicated wing in the school with outdoor play and sensory garden.

ECC now has a staff of 92 people including teachers, SNAs and ancillary staff and this year alone welcome 17 new teachers.

Other facilities include a large PE Hall with a fully equipped gym as well as four ball courts.

Mr Foley explained that the gym and sports hall are designed to be available for the community for rent, as are the ball courts and that perhaps a new tennis club could form for example and use the facilities when not in use by the school, or the hall could be used for badminton or basketball.

“This is a fantastic facility for the people of Enfield. For the students yes, but it also has the potential to provide much needed access to an outdoor tennis court, indoor badminton or basketball for the community.”

This year , 150 first years started in the school and already planning has started for next year with Enfield Community College's open night to take place on 29th September, giving prospective parents the chance to see the beautiful new building and facilities.

Unfortunately, the first group of students to start at the fledgling school never got to be taught in the new building having sat their Leaving Cert in June but the school made sure to invite them up to the new building for photos before their recent Debs Ball so they still got the chance to have a look around and see the new facilities.

With four moves in six years, it has been a hectic couple of years for principal Shane Foley but he said it was “worth every bit of the blood, sweat and tears to get us to where it is”.

“We are extremely pleased with the outcome. It is a beautiful school, the grounds are fantastic and there is such a positive atmosphere,” he said.