Omagh school to boycott Strule campus sod-cutting event tomorrow

ONE of the schools earmarked for relocation to the new Strule Shared Education Campus in Omagh is to boycott the sod-cutting ceremony at the site tomorrow.

Omagh High School says it has made the decision due to what it describes as ‘the lack of acknowledgement by the architects’ for adjustments during the design consultation process.

The school has said that other Strule Partners have ‘similar concerns’.

Five post-primary schools currently located in Omagh town centre are due to move to the new campus. They are Omagh CBS, Sacred Heart College, Omagh High School and Loreto Grammar. Arvalee School and Resource Centre was the first school to move there almost a decade ago.

The principal of Omagh High, Christos Gaitatzis, made the statement about the boycott of tomorrow’s event on behalf of the school’s governors.

“Omagh High School is supporting actively the Shared Education element of the project,” he said.

“However, the design and construction element of the project is veering to the wrong direction and we have no other choice but to highlight our points of contention.

“This decision has not been taken lightly but it is our only way to demonstrate our frustration to the leaders of this ‘flagship” project’.”

Preparation works on the campus – located on the Gortin Road in Omagh and due to cost in the region of £375 million – have been ongoing for a number of months following the confirmation of funding.

It is more than a decade since the ground-breaking educational was first announced.

Woodvale Construction based on the Crevenagh Road were last year confirmed as the main contractors for the project.