It was the end of an era last week when the Holy Family Senior School closed its doors as a school on the Borris Road for the last time.
A post on their Facebook page acknowledged the significant of the occasion: “It’s time so say goodbye to our Borris Road building which has provided an education to the people of Portlaoise for over 50 years.
“We remember the Christian Brothers who had the foresight in the 1960s to build the school which served the needs of the time. Thousands have passed through its doors since then under one of its 3 different names: St Mary’s CBS, St Paul’s Primary School or Holy Family Senior School,” the post added.
With the building due to be demolished later this year, the school says the memories will live on.
“It really is the end of an era,” said school principal Des Sutton.
“We have mixed feelings, to be honest. It is a mixture of sadness at the moment and excitement at going on to a new chapter,” Ms Sutton said.
“The school is well past its sell-by date. It was built for 250 students and now has 600,” the principal said.
“We have prefabs everywhere, extra classrooms and leaking toilets and are badly in need of an upgrade as the school has long outlived itself,” Mr Sutton said.
“It will be a huge change, but like anything in life, change is good. We are looking forward to the space and light in the new facility,” he said.
Aghnaharna
The new Aghnaharna campus will provide state-of-the-art facilities for the students when they enter its doors for the first time in late August.
Teachers will return earlier in August to get everything organised. “The teachers will be coming in voluntarily,” Mr Sutton said, to ensure everything is in place before the students enter the doors for the first time.
However, Mr Sutton believes the main hurdle has already been cleared, with the amalgamation of three schools last year. He said dealing with bricks and mortar can be easier than accommodating different personalities. “It worked extremely well,” he said of the amalgamation.
No stone will be left unturned, with a new traffic management plan in place.
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