Minister for Education Visits New Build Site

Down High were delighted to welcome the Northern Ireland Minister for Education, Paul Givan, onto the site of the new school build on the Strangford Road last Wednesday. The Minister, accompanied by MLA Diane Forsythe and MLA Harry Harvey (who supported the organisation of the visit), toured the site with the principal Mrs Maud Perry, Mrs Avril Heenan (Chair of the Board of Governors), and representatives from the Education Authority, McAdam Design and Graham Construction to witness first-hand the rapid progress of the build which remains on course for completion in Spring of 2025.

Reflecting on his experience, the Minister commented, ‘I was delighted to see the progress that has been made on the site for the new Down High School. Once completed this impressive new building will provide state of the art facilities for the pupils, teachers, governors, community and wider South Down. I commend the hard work undertaken by everyone involved over decades, to get this project to this exciting stage and I look forward to seeing the new school open.’

School Principal, Mrs Maud Perry, noted, ‘We are grateful to the Minister for taking time to visit the site of the new school building. 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.’

Mrs Avril Heenan, Chair of Down High’s Board of Governors, added her thanks saying, ‘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 by the teams from the Education Authority, McAdam and Graham. 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.’