Students at St Mary’s Grammar Urge Education Minister Givan for Sports Facility Upgrades

Over 1,000 students from a west Belfast school have formally requested the education minister to provide a new sports hall and enhanced amenities. Education Minister Paul Givan received these letters during his visit to St Mary’s Grammar on Wednesday. The minister also engaged in hurling with several senior students during his visit. However, some students informed him that the condition of the school’s sports facilities was “being held back” their progress. A recent assessment by the Northern Ireland Audit Office (NIAO) indicated that numerous schools require “significant repair and upgrade to meet modern standards of safety, accessibility, and functionality”. St Mary’s, constructed in 1968, has developed proposals for a new sports hall, intended for use by the local community during evenings and weekends in addition to school activities. The construction of this new sports hall is contingent upon the Department of Education (DE) providing the necessary funding for these plans. Minister Givan has previously informed the assembly that, in recent years, minor school construction projects have been “restricted to emergency and statutory schemes to keep schools open and children safe”. He stated, “This is not acceptable.” Students at St Mary’s conveyed to BBC News NI that the condition of their sports hall was “frustrating.” “It’s frustrating because you see great talent in the school and people that have the potential but it’s sometimes annoying to see facilities in other schools when it isn’t really here,” commented 18-year-old Seán. He emphasized that sport was “very important to him.” He added, “I play soccer or football and it’s a good form of escapism.” “It’s really good to take your mind off studying all the time.” Michael, 17, a hurler, expressed that it felt as though pupils were “being held back.” He remarked, “It dates back to the 70s, some of these buildings and it doesn’t work for us.” “I think we’re being held back and compared to other schools we don’t have the facilities that they do.” “I know this is my last year but we want this sports hall to push on and bring all these kids coming through from first year all the way up and develop them.” He further noted that sport enabled individuals to connect with peers and served as “a stress relief from exams.” Givan commented that sport was “a great thing for everybody to be involved in.” He added, “It’s something that I very much enjoyed when I was at school and it’s something I want to support in all of our schools.” “It makes a big difference, not just in terms of people’s physical health and wellbeing but it also helps them academically in schools as well.” However, he acknowledged sharing the frustration experienced by many principals regarding the condition of their school buildings. He stated, “I’m deeply frustrated and many principals share their frustration with me that they’re in school buildings that are not fit for purpose.” “And the Northern Ireland audit office report recently published said that there’s hundreds of millions needed to be invested into our school estate.” “Twenty-five years ago the school I went to had a better sports hall than the one now I’m currently standing in.” “And when you have a school this size – over 1000 boys coming here – they want to be able to access the proper facilities and they’re not able to do that.” “That’s where the resources are so vitally important, that we can invest in our schools estate.”