By 
MORE than double the number of pupils are now attending St Macartan’s Primary School in Clogher compared with less than a decade ago, but the rapid growth is placing increasing pressure on facilities within the century-old building.
The school’s principal, Karen McGinn, used a recent visit by First Minister Michelle O’Neill to highlight the urgent need for a new dining room and assembly hall.
Plans for a multi-purpose hall had been approved and were due to proceed in 2017, but the project – estimated to cost in the region of £200,000 – was halted when funding was withdrawn.
“Everyone associated with the school appreciated the honour and privilege of having the First Minister visit us,” Mrs McGinn said. “But we also wanted to emphasise the need for improved facilities to cater for our ever-growing number of pupils.
“Our new hall was due to be built and, although the funding was pulled, our enrolment has continued to rise. At present, the children have no adequate space for dining or for whole-school events such as Christmas plays, shared education activities and assemblies.
“The funding has to come from somewhere because this work is a necessity. The lack of suitable facilities does have an impact, even though staff work extremely hard to make sure everything runs smoothly.”
Mrs McGinn explained that the school sometimes uses a nearby controlled primary school for shared education events, but said the situation is far from ideal.
“It’s unfortunate that opportunities to host parents and pupils from other schools here are limited. Our Christmas play is a good example – it had to be staged over two days so that parents, grandparents and relatives could attend.
“That creates additional pressure on staff, much of which goes unseen. It’s not fair on our pupils and it’s not fair on our staff.”
In response, the First Minister said she would continue to work with the school to highlight its challenges and help find a solution.
“There is a very strong school community at St Macartan’s, and it’s clear that the children’s experience here is so special because of the dedication of the staff,” Mrs O’Neill said.
“Schools like this are the heartbeat of their communities. You can see what they mean to local people, and they deserve to be supported.
“St Macartan’s does face particular challenges, and we will continue to work with the school to try to address them.”
