| Lady Hermon said: "I am absolutely delighted to be back in my home County of Tyrone to officially open this much-needed extension to Ballytrea Primary School , which is not far from where I grew up and where I still have close family and many friends. I particularly welcome this development at a rural school giving as it does great encouragement to the local community and also greatly improving resources available to pupils and staff."
Welcoming Lady Hermon, guests, parents and pupils, Ballytrea principal Laura Swaile said she was delighted to see the scheme carried out at the school.
Mrs Swaile said: “The extension provides a better learning environment for all our pupils. We are pleased to have a new infant classroom and are very excited about our computer suite.
“We are grateful to Brigh Presbyterian Church for allowing us use of their hall when we needed the space to put on various events and activities. Our new multi-purpose hall will mean parents can now come to the school for their children’s performances and this space will also be used for the fantastic facilities we have now for physical education.”
SELB Chief Executive Helen McClenaghan attended Friday’s event on behalf of the Board.
Mrs McClenaghan said: “I am delighted that the Board has been able to carry out this work at Ballytrea Primary School . The project is part of an SELB programme of works aimed at improving facilities at rural schools and was funded under the Reinvestment and Reform Initiative.
“I hope Mrs Swaile, her colleagues and the pupils will be encouraged by this development and I wish them well as they make use of these enhanced facilities.”
The works to the school involved the construction of two new extensions to the existing building. The first extension, located in the middle of the
school involved the demolition of the existing multi-purpose hall to enable a new larger multi-purpose hall and store to be constructed in its place, in line with the current Department of Education guidelines.
A new front entrance, visible from the school gates, was also constructed as part of this area of works. The new entrance replaces the existing entrance and now provides a focal point for all those arriving at the school. A new entrance lobby with ramp was also created to ensure that full disabled access was maintained throughout the school. The Principal’s office is also accessed from the new entrance lobby.
The second extension is located at the far end of the school and alterations were made to the existing building to allow the main corridor to be extended. A new classroom and resource area are provided adjacent to the existing classroom accommodation. The resource area has been designed so that it is readily accessible from both neighbouring classrooms as well as the main corridor. Additional toilet facilities and cloak spaces were also provided to serve this area.
|
