New Educate Together school confirmed for Irish Glass Bottle site

THE Department of Education confirmed last week that it had bought the former Irish Glass Bottle (IGB) site in Goatstown.

This site will be home to the Goatstown/Stillorgan Educate Together National School, a 16-classroom school to be established in the coming weeks.

The school's temporary accommodation for the coming academic year will be in Grafton House, Sandyford. The decision on the IGB site is subject to planning permission.

Part of the county development plan has to be altered to allow for a school to be built on the site.

Minister Josepha Madigan said she had been recently informed by the Department of Education that agreement in principle had been reached with a local landowner for the Department to acquire a site which would be a permanent location for the new Goatstown/Stillorgan Primary School.

“All indications from the Department currently are that the location in question will be the IGB site in Goatstown,” Minister Madigan said.

A call is also going out for prospective patrons to apply to take part in the patronage process for the new secondary school.

“It is important that the planning process takes account of the need for appropriate access to the site for local people, as well as the need for green areas and appropriate traffic management. This should not be a closed site,” Minister Madigan added.

“Overall, I welcome the commitment and investment in a new school for the Stillorgan and Goatstown area. Such a move is a reflection of the growing population in the area, as well as the Government’s commitment to investing in education and ensuring that all our communities can benefit from a grow-ing economy.”

The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Shane Ross said he had been informed by Minister for Education and Skills, Joe McHugh, that prospective patron bodies would be invited to express interest in running the new school on the Old Irish Glass Bottle site on the Goatstown Road. 

This is the first stage in the patronage process which will ultimately go to an online parental preference survey and then adjudication by the New Schools Establishment Group. 

Minister Ross said: “This is very welcome news for both primary and secondary education in Goatstown. The invitation to become the secondary school patron in Goatstown follows on from the announcement in April, 2018 that the Government was making a major investment in education. This is great news for Goatstown and the region as it will help meet demand from the growing population.”

Minister Ross added: “Patronage for a new school is an important decision for a community. This is the first step today in seeking invitations. This will be followed over the coming months with an online patronage survey where local people, parents and guardians of eligible children living in the area, will be asked to express their preferences on patronage of this new school in Goatstown.”

The parental preference survey in relation to the new school will be held as part of the Online Patronage Process System (OPPS). The OPPS provides for objective information to be shared with parents and guardians to support them in making an informed choice to express their preferred model of patronage for their child’s education.

This also includes an option for parents to express a preference for Irish or English medium education.