Kilkenny school prepares for a new era in local education

St Canice's Co-Ed Primary School is looking forward to a bright and prosperous future according to principal, Andy Hanrahan.

In October, Minister for Education, Norma Foley, announced the beginning of construction on seven large-scale school building projects across the country as part of Project Nore. 

St Canice's alongside CBS Kilkenny and Presentation Kilkenny received funding for new and modernised facilities under the National Development Finance Agency (NDFA).

The local primary school have been given the green light for a new 24 classroom school building which will also include special classes for children with additional needs. 

Speaking about the project, Mr Hanrahan, said, "It'll be an amazing facility to come in to. It'll benefit St Canice's and Kilkenny City for the next 50 or 60 years," adding, "the new school building is not only designed for the present but also for the future.

"St Canice's School has grown at a huge rate since the school opened in 1981, originally we'd have two classes for each year group but it has become three in the past 15 years," he said.

The school principal, who has served over a year in the role, stated the move from pre-fab classes in parts of the school to permanent clasrooms will be'great', claiming 'it's important to move on'. 

The city based school is set to increase facilities including the addition of a state of the art hall, benefitting the school's music and sports communities. 

The first part of the building works are expected to be completed by December 2024, with a provisional completion date of November 2025 and despite disruptions while works take place, the St Canice's National School Principal says that 'the school community has bought into it really well'.

The local principal concluded by saying the new scale of the new development will only sink in during the years to come.