Good news for Mallow schools

There was good news late last week for St Mary’s Secondary School in Mallow when the go-ahead was given for eleven new classrooms, and this week it was revealed that the long-awaited construction project at the Patrician Academy is expected to start in the last quarter of 2021. The start date for the Patrician Academy has been long awaited after the school was badly-damaged in a fire five years ago, and local TD Seán Sherlock commented that, while it was welcome that a general time for construction was finally revealed, he would continue pressing the Department until he sees boots on the ground and diggers on site. “We have to keep the pressure on the Department,” he said.
In the case of St Mary’s Secondary School, the Department of Education had given the go-ahead for 11 new classrooms, two SEN classrooms and several additional rooms, including a science laboratory, multimedia room, arts room and a home economics room. The news was welcomed by Cllr Pat Hayes who said, “This is great news for Mallow. I want to wish the school’s principal and board of management every success with this development. St Mary’s is a wonderful school and continues to play an important role in the community of Mallow.”
The announcement was also welcomed by Deputy James O’Connor who said, “The issue of school capacity is a critical issue for the constituency of Cork East. With a growing and young population, it is vital that school develop-ments such as this are prioritised by the Department.”