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Social Development Minister Nelson McCausland made a visit earlier today to St. Josephs’ Boys’ High School in Newry to has open the school's new £403,000 pitch.
The pitch was funded by the Northern Ireland Executive through the Department for Social Development’s Neighbourhood Renewal Investment Fund. The pitch will allow the school to enhance its physical education programme, enable its teams to play competitive matches at home for the first time and provide an additional local facility for use by the surrounding community.
Opening the new pitch facilities Minister McCausland said: “Sport develops and enriches communities and there are clear links between sporting activity and improved health and well being. The new playing pitch at St Joseph’s will provide state of the art facilities for use by the school teams, its pupils and the surrounding community. It will help to create a strong sense of local community pride and I have no doubt the young men at St Joseph’s will make good use of their new pitch.”
During his visit the Minister also announced an additional investment in schools in the Newry area. He said: “Strong numeracy and literacy skills are an essential start for any career in today’s job market. I want to commend the local Neighbourhood Renewal partnership and the SELB for taking this project forward in Newry.
“My Department has provided further funding of £123,620 for the ‘Count Read Succeed Plus’ numeracy and literacy and parental engagement programme that will be rolled out in all the schools in the Neighbourhood Renewal Area.”
He added: “The ‘Count Read Succeed Plus’ programme highlights all that is positive in Neighbourhood Renewal where partnership working involving Statutory Bodies and community sectors is helping to build better futures for our young people. It will contribute to an improvement in standards of literacy and numeracy, address the void in educational outcomes and make a real and tangible difference to the lives of our young people. ”
St. Joseph’s Boys’ High School – Principal Hugh Mallon said: “I would like to thank the Minister for coming here today to officially open our new facilities. St Joseph’s has served this area for over 50 years, making its facilities available to the local community through Neighbourhood Renewal and the Extended Schools programmes. The new football pitch will, therefore, make a major contribution towards addressing physical, social and community renewal in the Newry Neighbourhood Renewal Area.”
Welcoming the news of the ‘Count Read Succeed Plus’ funding he said: “The provision if this funding will help to make a real difference to the lives of many children and young people in the Newry Neighbourhood Renewal area. It will help to build on the improvements in educational attainment that have already been made and ensure that our young people are given every opportunity to fulfil their potential.”
