No sign of new secondary school in Newtownmountkennedy
The Wicklow PeopleThe Department of Education are holding their ground and not committing to building a new secondary school in Newtownmountkennedy.
Last month Tánaiste Simon Harris wrote to Education Minister Helen McEntee after it was revealed a long-mooted plan to build the new facility in north Wicklow won’t break ground anytime soon.
Land was zoned for community and education purposes as part of the local area plan for the town as far back as 2002, with the expectation it would be used to build a secondary school for the growing population in the wider area, but there has been no movement from the department since then.
Currently, students are forced to travel to neighbouring towns such as Greystones, Kilcoole, and Wicklow, for second level education, a situation that both Cllr Paul O’Brien and Cllr Stephen Stokes described as “unsustainable” when they tabled a motion in the council chamber in October 2024, calling for better educational facilities in the wider region.
Following a parliamentary question from Wicklow Sinn Féin TD John Brady, the Education Minister said new schools are only established in areas of demographic growth.
“The resources available for school infrastructure have to be prioritised to meet the needs of areas of significant population increase so as to ensure that every child has a school place.”
To address the growing need for places in the wider area a large-scale project is currently ongoing at Colaiste Chraobh Abhainn in Kilcoole that will increase capacity to over 1,000 pupils plus 4 Special Educational Need units.
The development is currently at stage 3 which means the project has been approved to proceed to tender.
Meanwhile Greystones Community College was established in 2020 to act as a regional solution.
Permanent school accommodation, with capacity for over 1,000 pupils, is currently under construction.
Minister McEntee indicated the department will engage with an increased number of post primary schools across the county as part of planning for the new school year in September.
“This engagement will include the request for admissions data to help identify duplicate applications and determine the need for additional places, if any, in the area.”
“It is expected that, as in previous years, the data sharing will provide confidence that there is sufficient school place availability in most areas.
“However, if a shortfall of places is identified in an area, the department will work with schools to put the necessary solutions in place.”
It’s understood the department will continue to liaise with Wicklow County Council in respect of their County Development Plan and associated Local Area Plans with a view to identifying any potential long-term accommodation requirements across school planning areas.
Recent figures obtained by Social Democrats TD in Wicklow Jennifer Whitmore revealed the number of students enrolled in all secondary and primary schools in the catchment of Greystones, Kilcoole, Delgany, Newcastle, Newtownmountkennedy, Roundwood and Kilmacanogue.
The figures show a significant increase of 32pc between the current sixth year group of the four local secondary schools (440 students) and the current sixth class group of the 14 primary schools in their catchment (582 students).
The gap in places available for those students, which was obtained separately by the Newtown Secondary School campaign group campaign group by liaising directly with the four secondary schools.
For the enrolment in September 2025 these four schools have 553 places available, but the sixth-class total for all schools in their catchment area is 582 students.
This leaves a potential 29 students without places for secondary school in the area.