Omagh: Strule sod-cutting to be boycotted by means of highschool

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Robbie Meredith

BBC News NI training and humanities correspondent

BBC Christos is smiling at the camera against a cream wall. He is wearing a white shirt and navy suit jacket. He has brown hair and hazel looking eyes. — Christos Gaitatzis is the predominant of Omagh High

The headteacher and governors of a County Tyrone college are to boycott the sod-cutting rite at a landmark shared training campus later over dissatisfaction at plans for its new college construction.

Principal Christos Gaitatzis mentioned Omagh High School had confronted “a constant battle” over proposals at Strule Shared Education Campus and the boycott was once a “last resort”.

The campus is the greatest college construction mission in Northern Ireland and the long-awaited sod-cutting has come after years of delays.

The Department of Education (DE) mentioned it was once disenchanted by means of the transfer and the varsity’s requests have been thought to be.

What is the Strule Shared Education Campus?

The campus comes to six colleges, and greater than 4,000 pupils, shifting to the website of the previous Lisanelly Army base.

Omagh High School is without doubt one of the six because of get a brand new construction at Strule.

However, regardless of paintings starting at the website in 2013, Arvalee Special School is the one college to be constructed thus far.

The others looking ahead to new structures are Loreto Grammar School, Sacred Heart College, Omagh Academy and Christian Brothers Grammar School.

The mission has been plagued by means of delays and emerging prices – in March 2024, the estimated value was once £374m, up from the preliminary estimate of £168.9m.

But development is in spite of everything because of get started and a sod-cutting rite for the campus is about to be hung on Wednesday.

Strule had a “Shared Education Campus Construction Launch” in September 2024

Ten in the back row, eight men in suits including Paul Givan and then two women in blazers.
Fifteen in the front row: left to right is two girls in navy school uniform, one boy in black and grey uniform, a man in a suit kneeling down with his hand on the wheelchair of a boy in a blue uniform slightly in front of two girls in blue uniform, two girls in brown uniform, one boy in blue uniform beside a girl in blue and a boy and girl in navy uniforms.
Behind the two rows is a blue and cream sign that has the world 'strule' on it. — Strule had a “Shared Education Campus Construction Launch” in September 2024

Why is Omagh High School unsatisfied?

Mr Gaitatzis mentioned Omagh High School would no longer be represented on the sod-cutting, as a result of its deliberate new college construction at Strule was once unsatisfactory.

“The school is very small for us,” he mentioned.

“It’s built for 450 pupils – this is our current number and it’s rising.

“There are vital spaces throughout the college that they are construction that won’t actually be offering, we really feel, the important potential enlargement this is required.

“So we have significant areas in the school that we requested adjustments, and these adjustments have not been made.”

Mr Gaitatzis mentioned that the varsity had raised its considerations with the Department of Education (DE) “on multiple occasions”.

“They need to listen to the educationalists, the people on the ground that work in the schools every day,” he mentioned.

He mentioned he had advised the dep. to make “the necessary adjustments in order to build modern schools for the future”.

“We felt that none of our recommendations were heard,” he mentioned.

A division spokesperson mentioned design requests from Omagh High have been thought to be by means of the group chargeable for the Strule mission.

“While every effort has been made to respond constructively to school-specific feedback, there are a range of requests that no new school build within the estate would typically receive,” they mentioned.

“Equity across the school estate is a critical principle, and all designs must align with the Department of Education’s school design handbook standards.”

The campus is meant to cater for 4,000 pupils

Signage for the Strule campus in Omagh, the wall is chocolate brown and the letters are a light brown colour except the U which is blue with two dots on top of it. The sky is grey and there are a couple of green trees, one in front of the wall and two behind the wall. — The campus is meant to cater for 4,000 pupils

Mr Gaitatzis mentioned the canteen within the deliberate new college was once too small – simply over part the scale of the varsity’s present canteen.

“There hasn’t been proper joined-up thinking,” he mentioned.

“They had some plans from a decade ago and those plans were revisited very quickly to try to put them through the line without really making significant changes.”

Mr Gaitatzis added that Strule was once “a great opportunity to make something great”.

“They’re going to make something just standard, just something that is going to tick a box,” he mentioned.

“We are taking this stance now because we know that we are correct in what we are requesting in order to make the future of the pupils of Omagh High School the best that it can be.”

He mentioned the “most frustrating part” was once that “people believe that because something was planned 10 years ago it’s still valid”.

“We know ourselves it isn’t – look how technology is moving on, look how people have changed the way of learning.

“It was once a golden alternative to construct a right kind long term campus to have to speak about for the following 50, 60 years and I feel we are making one thing simply same old.”

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