Location of new Curragh school should allow pupils to walk or cycle

Cllr Joanne Pender has called on Kildare Co Council and other stakeholders to ensure that the location of the new Curragh Post Primary allows pupils to walk or cycle to classes. Minister for Education Joe McHugh announced last month that a new 1,000 pupil school building has been approved for the Curragh Post Primary School. The announcement followed a review of the need for additional secondary school provision in Kildare South and a four year campaign by Kildare parents for a new secondary school.   Cllr Pender said that new school buildings can sometimes be delivered very quickly and that the Council needs to engage with stakeholders on the best location. She called on councillors to write to the Department of Education, the Department of Defence Property Services Section and the Kildare Wicklow Education Training Board asking for engagement as soon as possible with current pupils, parents, possible feeder schools, South Kildare Educate Together and all other relevant stakeholders.   She added that "current and future students who walk or cycle to school, should be able to continue to do so." Fine Gael TD Martin Heydon said he first proposed the idea of the new Curragh Post Primary School to the Minister for Education in 2016. He said: “The Curragh Post Primary school is a multi-denominational Community College under the patronage of Kildare and Wicklow Education and Training Board (KWETB) with over 130 pupils in the 2018/19 school year." “Engagement is ongoing in relation to the potential for Educate Together to become a Trustee Partner for the new school. I believe that a partnership with Educate Together would be a positive addition to the offering of the new school."