STUDENTS of St Eunan’s College in Letterkenny have taken their fight for a new school building straight to the Minister of Education and skills this week after penning a letter raising major concerns over the delays in construction.
The letter to Minister Norma Foley TD describes the current school facilities as ‘simply not adequate’ to meet the needs of students and staff.
With almost 1,000 pupils, Head Boy Cian Blake said the resources available to the school community are grossly insufficient, compared to the needs of students over 50 years ago when the school was last renovated.
“St. Eunan’s College contains one art room, two woodwork/construction rooms and two technical graphics/DCG rooms. As a result, it is simply not possible for students of these subjects in both Junior Cycle and Leaving Certificate to benefit wholly from these facilities due to the number of classes in relation to hours available,” the letter stated.
“The school is also limited in that it has only two science labs, one of which has a teacher in residence. Meaning that only a single lab is available for the entirety of the school, so delays in practical working follow suit.
“Furthermore, there are only two sets of toilet facilities, one inside and one outside, which is hardly appropriate for almost one thousand boys to use.”
Crowded environments and congested conditions were also raised as major concerns for the students as well as classrooms not being fit for purpose.
“It has become common for the classrooms in our school to feature mould on the walls, as is having classrooms which insufficiently regulate their temperature and hallways which pose a great difficulty to navigate at the change of class,” the students outlined.
“The lack of full accessibility for disabled individuals is also a significant cause for concern. This is especially evident when considering that students who are temporarily on crutches due to an injury struggle immensely to manoeuvre the building.
“While these limitations prove to be challenging, there remains an unwavering sense of pride towards the reputation and accomplishments of our school. This is personified in not just our students and staff, but our parents and the wider school community,” the letter continued.
“It is the shared belief here in the College that our continuous efforts towards academic success, physical and mental wellbeing are not fully recognised due to our geographical location.”
The school extended an invitation to the Minister to visit the school this academic year.
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