Strule Campus delay costing schools ‘large sums of money’

School would be ‘saving large sums of money’ this winter, had the move to the new Strule Shared Education Campus not been delayed by a number of years, local principals have stated.

At present, Omagh Academy, Omagh High School, Sacred Heart College, Loreto Grammar School and the Christian Brothers Grammar School are facing soaring energy prices – and the tough task of heating their old, and large, school builds with heating systems that are inefficient, according to today’s standards.

The five post-primary schools were originally meant to make the move into the new shared campus on the Gortin Road two years ago, in 2020.

When it is built, the new facility will feature a modern and efficient heating system, meaning lower maintenance costs. However, due to ongoing delays, the opening of the project – currently set to cost an eye-watering £213m – has been pushed back to at least 2026.

Speaking to the UlsterHerald, the principal of Omagh High School, Christos Gaitatzis, has said that his school will be making ‘significant energy savings’ when it eventually moves into the new site at the Strule campus.

“The current building is old, and we are currently spending a lot of money on heating, which could be cut down with the addition of a thermostat and an updated system,” he said.

“This is, obviously, not a good fiscal move for the Education Authority, because we are scheduled to move into our new building in the Strule Education Campus in 2026.

“However, this means that the school will continue to have to pay more money out of our current budget.

“The new buildings at the Strule campus all have thermostats.

“Therefore, the building can be heated to a certain temperature and automatically turn off – which is not the case for our school, currently,” he continued.

The principal of Sacred Heart College, Michael Gormley, has stated that the move to the new shared education campus will have a ‘positive impact’ on the school’s budget.

“It goes without saying that a newer building will save the school money,” Mr Gormley said. “It would mean a more modern and efficient heating system; along with fewer maintenance costs.

“The upkeep of our building, which has a part which is 60-years-old, is more intensive.

“The move to a new building will ease those costs.

“Like every other school right now, locally and further afield, the cost of supplies and heating has impacted on our budget.

“We are just glad that, unlike other schools, we will have the opportunity to lessen the impact of these costs when we move into our new school at the Strule Shared Education Campus.”

The UlsterHerald asked the Education Authority for a comment, but a spokesperson replied, “The Strule Shared Education Campus is a project being delivered by the Department of Education, and not the Education Authority, so the department would be best placed to answer your query.”

The Department of Education had not provided a response at the time of going to press yesterday (Wednesday) evening.