Drone Footage of Construction at Devenish College January 2021

Update on our new school building

We are delighted to share with the latest drone footage of our new school on the Tempo Road that was taken in early January 2021.

Starting at the top of the hill is Block A that, on the lower floor, contains our three workshop Technology and Design suite, three ICT rooms, six Maths classrooms and six Science labs. On the upper floor of Block A, we have our three Art rooms including an ICT suite and kiln room, our Home Economics suites with catering and ICT facilities and three general classrooms.

Block B is the section that runs down the hill from Block A into Block C. On the lower floor we have our staffroom, principal and vice principal offices, our general reception area, visitor entrance and our library, including an ICT suite. This area will open out into a fabulous courtyard area. On the upper floor we have our learning support suite, Modern Languages, History, Geography and RE classrooms as well as some general classrooms.

In Block C at the bottom end of the school, starting from left to right, we have our Music suite that includes a recording studio, practice rooms and keyboard suite, our assembly hall and a Drama suite, including green screen technology. You will also see the main pupil entrance and to the right of that our English and Media classrooms as well as the school canteen, kitchen and cafeteria.

On the upper floor of Block C we have our Sixth Form study area, Careers  suite, Business Studies and ICT suites and some general classrooms.

To the right of the site you will see our sports pavilion that will contain a four-court sports hall with dividing partition and gymnastics equipment. Four changing rooms, a fitness suite and a classroom. Below the Sports pavilion is our synthetic pitch, rugby pitch and two soccer pitches and above the sports pavilion we have five tennis courts/multi-use games area.

The project is continuing to make excellent progress and will be complete in early 2022.

First Drone Footage of Construction at Devenish College

Above is the first of our updates on the new build.  The video is taken by drone and shows the construction of what is known as Level 2 of our building.  This section contains our Technology and Design department (concrete block area), our Science and Mathematics departments as well as some of our ICT rooms, Home Economics, Art, Health and Social Care and general classrooms.  You will also be able to see the start of preparations for our link corridor (Level 1) that will run from the top of the hill to the bottom.  Work has not yet commenced on Level 0, that runs from left to right across the bottom of the hill. Past pupil, William Mavitty and his team with Glasgiven Contracts are making great progress!!!  See included images also of what the new school will look like when it is finished. 

On Thursday 7 November 2019, pupils and staff from Devenish College welcomed education officials and special guests to Devenish College for a ceremonial sod-cutting to mark the start of work on a new build school.

Education Authority (EA) Chairperson Sharon O’Connor joined with the principal Simon Mowbray, governors, EA officials, Department of Education officials, representatives from contractors Glasgiven Contracts and designers Isherwood & Ellis to mark the occasion.

“Although construction actually started on 1 July 2019, today is a landmark day for our school and I would like to thank our governors, staff and parents for their support in getting the project this far. We look forward to having a new school with enhanced facilities to better serve our children and staff. We have been delighted to see a significant rise in the standards of our pupil outcomes and in our enrolment over the last number of years and we feel our new facilities will allow us to progress to even better things in the future”, said Mr Mowbray

Praising the dedication of the school staff, governors and education officials who have brought the project to construction stage, Ms O’Connor said “I would pay tribute to the staff and board of governors for their hard work. This new build signifies a new chapter in your school’s history. It’s an exciting day for everyone involved in Devenish College – the pupils, staff past and present, parents, governors, the planning and design teams, the architects, consultants and contractors, the Department for Education and indeed the wider community.”

The new facilities are funded by the Department of Education, and delivered through the EA’s Major Capital Works Programme.

When asked for an update on progress, Mr Mowbray reported “I am very pleased to inform you that the work on the new site is progressing very well and is on programme. As you are aware, work commenced on 1 July 2019 and has largely centred on the reduction of approximately 7 metres from the top of the hill and its movement to the lower part of the site, where the pitches will be located. In total, approximately 100,000 cubic metres of soil has been moved so far. You will also have noticed that the construction of the right hand turning lane on the Tempo Road is nearing completion.”

The top of the site is now at the finished level and over the last three weeks, the foundations have been poured for what we know as Level 2 of the project. This will house our technology and design suite, maths, science, art, ICT, and Home Economics departments. The steel framework is in fabrication and it is anticipated that this will be erected before Christmas. Attention then turns to Level 1 and Level 0 modules and this will result in further shaping of the groundworks of the hill. 

We have been delighted with the professionalism and dedication of the design team, Isherwood and Ellis and the main contractors, Glasgiven Contracts. As I mentioned, we are currently on schedule and it is anticipated that the school will be completed by November 2021. We look forward to seeing further progress over the next 24 months and are hoping for a nice, mild, dry winter!!