Delight as school gets go-ahead to double in size

A proposal which will allow Portadown Integrated Primary School to double in size has been approved by Education Minister John O’Dowd.Principal Feargal Magee said the school was delighted at the announcement, which will enable it to increase the number of classes from seven to 14.The school has been consistently over-subscribed for a number of years, with many children having had to be turned away.From September 2016, the school will be able to take 58 pupils into Primary 1, as opposed to the current 29.And the school’s approved enrolment will increase on a phased basis from 203 to 406 children.Approval for a school building was granted at the beginning of this year on a site understood to be similar to the current one, with construction is set to begin in January 2017.The new announcement means the school will be big enough for 14 classes rather than the seven first approved by the department.