Church and Council agree on sixth joint campus project.

Agreement has been reached on the design of the joint campus primary schools in Bargeddie, North Lanarkshire Council and the Diocese of Motherwell announced today.

The council and the Diocese have been in discussions over the proposals for new schools incorporating Bargeddie Primary School and St Kevin‚s Primary School. This is one of seven joint campus schools planned in North Lanarkshire under the council‚s £150 million Education 2010 Public Private Partnership (PPP) project. Today‚s announcement means that the council and the Diocese have agreed the designs of six out of the seven joint campus projects.

Further discussion on the schools at Chapelhall is anticipated. A total of 24 new schools and a range of community facilities will be built through the council‚s Education 2010 project. An Advanced Works Agreement was signed by the council and its private sector partner Balfour Beatty to allow work to begin on this multi million pound project that will modernise school facilities across North Lanarkshire over the next six years.

Councillor Jim McCabe, Leader of North Lanarkshire Council, said: „I very much welcome this agreement on the detailed proposals for Bargeddie and St Kevin‚s Primary Schools, as this will allow us to move forward in developing a modern school for pupils and the wider community in this area. „The agreement reflects the time and effort that the council and the Diocese of Motherwell have invested in making sure we can provide first class educational facilities for all pupils and teachers while maintaining the individual identity and ethos of our Catholic schools. I believe that the joint campus model can offer real benefits to everyone involved in the delivery of education services, and our agreement on the Bargeddie/St Kevin‚s school is a further step forward in our Education 2010 project. „It is very satisfying to see work starting on five of our new schools, which will see the first pupils and teachers moving into state-of-the-art facilities in 2006.‰

Commenting on the decision, Bishop Joseph Devine said:
„I am pleased that agreement has been reached on the design of the shared campus schools in Bargeddie, following some alterations, which provide us with further reassurances about the clear independence of each school. We shall continue discussions to see if we can reach agreement on proposals for St Aloysius Primary School in Chapelhall.‰

The six joint campus primary school project now agreed are: · Glenboig Primary and Our Lady and St Joseph‚s Primary · Glengowan Primary and St Mary‚s Primary · Plains Primary and St David‚s Primary · New Stevenston Primary and St Patrick‚s Primary · Wishaw Academy Primary and St Ignatius‚ Primary · Bargeddie Primary and St Kevin‚s Primary. Work has already begun to prepare the ground on two new secondary schools, in Airdrie and in Coatbridge, at St Timothy‚s Primary School in Coatbridge and two new primary schools in Caldercruix. The new RC secondary school at Rosehall Park in Coatbridge will be a merger of Columba and St Patrick‚s High Schools with new community and sports facilities included, and Airdrie Academy and St Timothy‚s are being rebuilt on new sites. At Caldercruix work has begun on the first of the seven joint campus primary schools, bringing together Glengowan and St Mary‚s Primary Schools.
Ends


Peter Kearney
Director
Catholic Media Office
5 St. Vincent Place
Glasgow
G1 2DH
0141 221 1168
pk@scmo.org
www.scmo.org

Fiona Shaw, Senior Corporate Communications Officer
North Lanarkshire Council
Tel no: 01698 302497 Fax no: 01698 266709
E-mail: ShawFi@northlan.gov.uk