Down High new-build progress

Down High new-build progress

18 September 2024

A SIGNIFICANT construction milestone has been reached in the delivery of Down High School’s new £33m campus at the Strangford Road in Downpatrick.

The building has been officially topped out which means the last major piece of the ultra-modern building’s structure is now in place.

The multi-million pound project — which is being delivered by Graham Building North — will create a state-of-the-art education campus including a sports hall, PE facilities and sports pitches, catering for up to 950 pupils.

Graham is now underway with the next phase of works which includes completing the block work, screeding floors and making the building wind and water tight ahead of the high-quality internal fit out with the work due to be completed early next summer.

Stormont education minister, Paul Givan, recently visited the site to view the progress being made.

He said that once completed, the impressive new building will provide modern facilities for the pupils, teachers, governors, community and wider South Down. 

Mr Givan also commended the hard work undertaken by everyone involved over decades, to get this project to the current stage ahead of its formal opening.

The development is a passion project for the team involved, with many of the construction staff living locally and a number former Down High students.

Graham Building North’s regional managing director, Gary Holmes, said the company is proud to deliver a best-in-class education campus which will greatly enhance learning facilities for future generations growing up in Downpatrick.

“We have a proven track record of constructing exemplary education campuses across the UK,” he said.

“However, there’s no doubt that Down High School is a very special project for our site team, with many having attended the school as pupils. We look forward to progressing the next phase of construction as we target practical completion in summer 2025.”

Outline planning approval for the new school was secured in 2009 with funding earmarked for the new grammar school four years later, with the business case for the new build given the green light in 2015.

Formal planning approval was secured in 2018 when the expansive site which will be home to new Down High’s ultra-modern new school purchased in the same year.

The need for a new school has been top of Down High’s agenda for the principals and governors school since the late 1990s. 

The campaign commenced when Mr Jack Ferris was principal and the Board of Governors was led by Mr John Bassett.

The drive for the new school was continued by former principal Paul Logan and then Board of Governors chairman Roy Creelman and continued by current principal Mrs Maud Perry.

While outline planning permission for the Strangford Road site was granted in December 2009, it was 2013 before funding was agreed by former Minister for Education John O’Dowd and 2015 before the business case was approved for the then £21m new build.

It took around eight years from the start of the planning process to reach the reserved matters stage, with formal approval granted in 2018. 

There were further delays due to the Covid pandemic and an archaeological excavation which revealed significant findings, with the drive of students being educated in an ultra-modern school set to be realised 25 years after it got into gear.