‘I don’t want to cause trouble, but I have to speak up for my pupils and staff,’ says Louth school principal

By Olivia Ryan, The Drogheda Independent

The principal of Ardee Educate Together N.S has highlighted “serious concerns” about access and parking at a €7.6m new school building.

"I don’t want to be causing trouble, but I have to speak up for my pupils and staff,” said Ann Middleton, who has been principal at the mid-Louth school since 2002.

Louth County Council are leading the delivery of a new school building on Jervis Street, Ardee which is being funded by the Department of Education. It is expected to be open to children and staff in the Spring of 2026.

The 180 pupils are currently being taught in an 1840s building, with senior classes in a former furniture factory on the opposite side of the road.

"We might just be the only school in Ireland where a main road runs through it!” said Ann.

"So we are absolutely thrilled with the long awaited new school building. It will be the difference between night and day for us, as the junior school building is so old, and we don’t have the space we need, especially for the children with additional needs.”

She added: "We’ve had the boxes packed to move since earlier this year, when we originally thought the new school would be ready. There have been some delays, which can happen, and we understand that.”

However, Ann explained she has a number of specific concerns about the design of the new campus, where just twenty parking spaces have been provided, and no spaces are allocated for the special needs classes.

"We will need around twice the spaces they are installing as we have 34 staff to begin with, and we must also account for regular visitors including Speech and Language Therapists, Occupational Therapists, psychologists, and our autism and behaviour advisors.”

The principal says she has “continually raised with Louth County Council and the architects that there is barely enough space for two buses at the front of the building, even though I have told them again and again that there are five buses dropping off and picking up at our school every day.”

She added: “I feel they want me to put up and shut up. But I won’t. I am responsible for the safety of children and staff at this school, and these issues need to be addressed.”

This lack of bus parking will, said Ann, “cause a backup of other buses and cars on a daily basis, leading to traffic jams and delays.”

"The system they are intending to put in here will cause absolute traffic chaos every morning and afternoon.”

She added that the problems “could easily be resolved by extending the bus parking set down area by three spaces to the west of the building, where there is unused space on the site.”

News in 90 Seconds - 10 December 2025

The principal also highlighted a “potentially dangerous” situation for children walking to school, where a narrow footpath along Jervis Street is “very close to lorries passing just inches away.”

"We need safety barriers to be installed along this footpath, as there have been outside other schools. The speed lorries travel at along this road poses a real risk of children being sucked into the traffic. This must be addressed before the school opens as we cannot wait until a child is killed or injured to take action.”

Ann pointed out that she understands a lot of the issues have been caused by a design “which was drawn up ten years ago, before we had the school numbers we have now.”

“I have been asking the council to look at these problems while we still have the builders on site. They have been doing excellent work, and the building is well on its way to being complete on the inside."

"But if we have to go back and do these works, increase the parking and bus spaces after the builder is gone, that will cost so much more. It just makes sense to do this now, as there is a large green space where more more parking could easily be provided.”

Meanwhile the issues at the new Ardee Educate Together school were raised in a Dáil debate this week.

Louth TD Ruairi Ó Murchú said the lack of bus parking will have a specific impact on special needs pupils with autism, “who have difficulties with transferring and waiting and this could affect pupil regulation and cause meltdown for pupils with challenging behaviours. The present system will result in absolute traffic chaos.”

He added: “The principal has repeatedly raised this with Louth County Council and the architects, Kennedy Fitzgerald Architects. I went to Louth County Council myself and was told this had gone to the design team, which had refused it on the basis of cost, and that it would have to go back for planning.”

Deputy Ó Murchú said that as the new school building had been promised in 2012, “it may be that a ratio was delivered earlier regarding parking spaces that does not take into account the five autism spectrum disorder, ASD, classes. Staff are coming from right across Louth, Meath, Monaghan and beyond, so it is not as though people are able to cycle or walk.”

Deputy Emer Higgins responded on behalf of the Minister for Education and Youth, Deputy Hildegard Naughton, saying the brief for the major school building project is to provide an eight-classroom school with an additional four classroom special educational needs, SEN base included.

She said the Department has been “actively engaging with the design team and Louth County Council throughout the process and will continue to engage to provide practical advice and assistance on this important project.”

The Minister for Education and Youth acknowledged that the school previously submitted a request for additional car park spaces which was reviewed by the Department but was not approved.

“The design team is now required to construct and progress the project in accordance with the project brief, as agreed in the service level agreement and in accordance with any local authority planning conditions. The number of car parking spaces currently provided for is what is in the planning conditions. What is currently provided for is in line with the approved planning requirements and what happens generally. While I appreciate the Deputy has said the problem could be resolved simply, it sounds like it would require changes to a planning application.”

“The Deputy spoke about a solution for his school put forward by the principal, namely, widening the road and extending the car park. To me, this might require planning permission and would be something he would need to engage on with Louth County Council.”

"I appreciate he does not want to do that after the new school is built, given that it would involve additional disruption. The advice would be to engage now with Louth County Council to see it is if it is possible for the planning changes to happen.”