THREE local schools hosted the Education Minister when he came to the district last week.
On Wednesday, Paul Givan took the opportunity to visit the High School Ballynahinch, and Down High School and Knockevin Special School in Downpatrick.
Detailing the different stages of his itinerary, the Department of Education posted that, in Ballynahinch, the minister met school principal Paul Mark, representatives of the board of governors, and political representatives.
He also “met teachers and pupils in their classes and discussed issues including accommodation and specialist provision at the school”.
Mr Givan visited the site of the new Down High School building in Downpatrick, and was accompanied by principal Maud Perry, representatives of the board of governors, political representatives, and members of the construction team.
At Knockevin, he met with the pupils – who were enjoying classes, including a music and ICT lesson – and with school representatives, including principal Sara Liddell and board of governors’ chair Rosemary Gorman, and political representatives.
Posting online after the visit, Mr Givan wrote: “Meeting children and young people in schools is the highlight of my job, and today took me to Ballynahinch High School and the new build for Down High School, and the visit to Knockevin Special School left me inspired by the incredible team supporting very special pupils.”
In a separate post, he described his visit to the Down High new build site as “fantastic”.
“The school is progressing impressively well; it will be a complete game changer for the pupils, teachers, governors, community and wider South Down,” the minister stated.
The High School Ballynahinch shared a post from Rowallane DUP councillor Jonny Jackson, who had thanked them for “the invitation to come along to my old school this morning for the visit of our Education Minister, Paul Givan”.
He added that it was “so encouraging to hear how well the school is doing, and the positivity from the staff and pupils”.
His party colleague and fellow Rowallane councillor, Callum Bowsie, said that it was “great to welcome our Education Minister to my former high school to see its successes and where support is needed”.
He also thanked DUP Strangford MLA Michelle McIlveen for helping him to organise the visit.
Harry Harvey MLA (DUP, Strangford) stated that it had been “a great pleasure to welcome Minister Givan to Ballynahinch to visit the High School”.
“Well done to the team who showed the minister all the school has to offer,” he added.
Down High posted that it had been “a real privilege to welcome the Minister for Education, Paul Givan, to our new school site”.
“He was able to see first-hand the rapid progress of the build, which remains on course for completion in spring 2025,” the school said.
Mrs Perry voiced her gratitude to the minister for “taking time to visit the site”.
“Each time we visit the new build site, we are just amazed by the progress, and it was a pleasure to share our growing excitement about the move with the minister,” she stated.
Avril Heenan, chair of the school’s board of governors, said that “the whole school community has waited so long for this much-needed new build to come to fruition, and therefore, it is so very encouraging to witness the incredible rate of development being delivered”.
“We thank Minister Givan for attending and were glad to have the opportunity to share with him some of the journey to this point, as well as highlighting the benefits this building will bring to our school community,” she added.
South Down DUP MLA Diane Forsythe stated that it had been “fantastic” to welcome the minister to Downpatrick.
“The project is an absolute credit to all involved over decades to get it this far; I look forward to its opening,” she posted.
The local representative also thanked Mr Harvey for arranging the visit.
Knockevin thanked Mr Givan for “coming to our school and meeting with us”.
“Well done to our pupils for being part of his tour, especially Fox, Owl, Bernagh and Donard Classes, which he spent time in,” a post read.
The school also thanked South Down SDLP MLA Colin McGrath for organising the visit.
He posted that it had been great for the minister to visit the school’s Downpatrick campus – they also have facilities in Castlewellan and Dundrum – and see the “amazing work” going on there, though added that “whilst there’s top class education going on, the surroundings aren’t the best”.
“The best way we can meet the needs of pupils and staff is to have a purpose-built facility on one site – that’s what I’m fighting for,” the MLA stated.
“It’s critically important that they get a new build and that that new build is under the one roof, so that they can deliver their high-class education to those that really need it.”
