Weekly News
Steelwork providing Irish school solution
Bringing together two local schools, steelwork is progressing on the Ballycastle Shared Education Centre in Northern Ireland.
The £72M scheme will offer modern, state-of-the-art facilities funded primarily through the UK Government’s Fresh Start Programme for Shared and Integrated Education.
Once complete, it will accommodate 1,180 pupils and will be shared between Ballycastle High School, and Cross and Passion College.
Working on behalf of main contractor Heron Bros., Walter Watson is fabricating, supplying and erecting 1,150t of steelwork for the project.
Stephen Boyle, Project Sponsor for the Education Authority, said: “The Ballycastle scheme is unique in that it involves a number of key stakeholders, all of whom have shown great commitment in getting the project to the stage where we now see construction well under way.
“Keeping everyone focused on the end goal has been very important as we strive to deliver the scheme for the benefit of current and future generations of children, and young people in the Ballycastle area.”
The school, which will be split down the middle (north and south) between the two schools, consists of a number of inter-linked blocks, which are arranged into a square, with the middle area accommodating a courtyard.
The majority of the school buildings are two-storeys high, with the exception of two three-storey link zones that traverse a retaining wall.