Calls for urgent upgrades to a Co Armagh High School have come in after a power outage forced staff to have to school children from home for four days.
A parent of a pupil attending Markethill High School contacted Armagh I after an “ongoing power outage” sent their child home on Wednesday (September 30).
They said the school has remained closed since and that there are discussions that it may remain closed this coming Monday (October 5) while repair works are underway.
Frustrated, the parent said the issue highlights the “urgent need” for redevelopment of the Mowhan Road school building, describing the current premises as “not fit for purpose”.
A text message sent to parents when the incident occurred read: “Dear Parent/Guardian, Due to an ongoing power outage at the school, we regret to inform you that the school will remain closed on Friday October 2.”
The message explained that some pupils would be able to continue to attend classes at SRC and River Study classes would also continue unaffected.
It then adds: “The Education Authority (EA) is working to provide the school with a generator and it is hoped that power will be restored sufficiently to allow the school to reopen on Monday October 5.
“We will keep parents informed of any further developments.”
Parents were advised that students should continue to access lessons and work via Google Classroom and email, as directed by their teachers.
However, it is now understood that a generator has arrived on-site but that the school are adopting a “phased” return of pupils to ensure the system is not overloaded.
Back in February of this year, calls for a new-build school were aired on the Northern Ireland Assembly floor by DUP MLA, Gareth Wilson.
Wilson’s remarks on the need for a new school building came off the back of Education Minister Paul Givan’s commitment to progressing plans for a new Tandragee Junior High School premises.
While welcoming the investment secured for the “specific site” in Tandagee, Mr Wilson said, as a Newry and Armagh representative, he was also “very committed” to continuing to lobby for Markethill High School, where he praised principal Colin Berry and his team for all their efforts.
“There is a real and pressing need for investment in that site on the Mowhan Road,” he said.
“Markethill High School continues to perform impressively as an education provider. The Minister has visited the school on a number of occasions, and I have been in communication with him again in recent days on continuing work on that development requirement.
“Markethill High School deserves investment, and I will continue to make the case for that.”
However, that was six months ago. Armagh I contacted the MLA with details of the Markethill High School parent’s concerns surrounding this latest issue.
Newry & Armagh DUP Assemblyman Gareth Wilson MLA said: “I have been liaising with the school and with NIE and I understand the Education Authority engineers are actively working to fix the electrical fault within the school grounds.
“It is unfortunate that the fault has caused this level of disruption to the running of the school but without adequate power supply, the school cannot function as intended.
“This has necessitated the difficult decision to both cancel lessons and also phase the return of pupils based on the effectiveness of the interim power supply.
“Hopefully complete repairs will be concluded within a very short time and allow the school to return to normality. I will continue to liaise with school and agencies in the meantime.”
A spokesperson for the school said: “Markethill High School experienced a power outage on Wednesday which has resulted in the school being closed since that time.
“Engineers from both NIE Networks and the Education Authority have worked tirelessly to locate and address the issue.
“We are pleased to confirm that a generator was successfully installed at the school this afternoon. As a result, we are planning a phased return to school on Monday, October 5, and full details of these arrangements have been communicated to parents.
“The school would like to place on record its appreciation for the efforts of NIE Networks, Education Authority staff, and our wider school community for their patience and support during this challenging situation.”
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