After four years of campaigning a new Educate Together school has finally opened in South Dublin. Citywest ETNS, located at the Saggart end of Fortunestown Lane, welcomed its first pupils on Monday September 3rd.
School Principal Caitriona Hand warmly welcomed her new pupils and their parents on the school’s first day:
‘Citywest ETNS is opening in a fantastic new building with space for us to grow into. This school has a bright future thanks to the community support and non-stop campaigning to make it a reality. It is very real, we are open and I hope that today will be a day you will all remember for the rest of your lives’.
Dedicated local parents with the support of Educate Together, have been campaigning to have a new school opened in the greater Tallaght area for four years. Member of the local parent group Sinead Harrington expressed her delight as the school opened:
‘I am so happy that this day has finally come. All the parents who campaigned for this school wanted their children to be taught through the Educate Together ethos. Unfortunately for some it has opened too late for their children but the school is here now and the Citywest community owes them a debt of gratitude’.
In March the Department of Education and Skills announced that Educate Together had been awarded patronage of two new schools, Citywest and Firhouse (which opens in 2013). Work commenced on locating a site for the school and in June, the Fortunestown Lane site was secured.
The building in which Citywest ETNS is housed was originally developed for residential and retail use. The bottom floor of one building has been converted to house an Educate Together and a Community National School. Both schools will share yard facilities.
2012 is an important year for Educate Together as four other new primary schools are opening in Kildare, Ballinteer, Stepaside and Ashbourne. In addition three new Educate Together second-level schools have been announced which will open in 2014 in Lucan, Blanchardstown and Drogheda.
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