The principal of Knockbeg College says that the renovation of the school is ’20 years in the making’.
Mike Carew made the comment as the contracts were signed in the staff room at an official event on Friday.
The works began on Monday and will see a complete transformation of the school from what it once was.
There will be a number of rooms demolished – beginning with the gym while the Study Hall and ‘Frankie Lyons’ laboratory will also be knocked down.
As part of the works, three listed buildings will be restored. Two new three story classroom extensions will be built, including a double autism unit.
It is hoped that the entire building will be completed in two years while one of the extensions is expected to be ready by September 2019.
Speaking at the launch, principal Mike Carew said: “This really is a fantastic day to say that at long last, Knockbeg will get the building that it deserves – it is almost 20 years in the making.
“We will now get the school that the students and teachers deserve to work in.
“I’d just like to thank everyone who made this possible. I know an awful lot of work was done long before I became principle.
“But I can say with certainty that this project would never have happened without the great work of Fr Dunphy and Mick Regan from the board of management.”
The chairman of the Board of Management, Fr John Dunphy
“This project has been going on a long, long time. It was like going to a desert and seeing a mirage, it was here and then not here but now it finally is.
“So I’d just like to thank everyone. I’d also like to acknowledge the students who had to operate her in conditions that weren’t conducive to learning.
“I also want to highlight the huge contribution that Mick Regan made to the whole thing. He invested a huge amount of his time and energy to get us to this stage.
“I know how much he put into it and I know that a lot of people never will.
“So as they say now, let the building begin.”
The building company Mythen Construction from Wexford formally signed contracts with the Bord na Mona management, representatives from the Diocese which is the Trustee, current and past principles, architects, quantity surveyors, Parents Council and Students Council.
Principal Carew expects enrolment to grow from its current level of 423.
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