Scottish Catholic Observer

Pupils at Motherwell’s Our Lady of Good Aid Cathedral Primary School have been enjoying the new surroundings of their shared campus building since returning to school after the summer holidays.

The pupils are sharing the new facility with Firpark ASN (Additional Support Needs) Primary School and Daisy Park Community Centre campus with the school being divided into four main teaching zones.

Positive relationship

Maria Shields, headteacher of Our Lady of Good Aid Cathedral Primary School and nursery, which is also situated on the campus, spoke positively of the new school’s facilities and the relationship they share with their colleagues from Firpark Primary School.

“Everyone associated with Our Lady of Good Aid Cathedral Primary School is delighted with our new campus,” Ms Shields said. “Our beautiful school and our lovely new nursery offer an outstanding learning environment for our children; it offers endless possibilities for flexible indoor and outdoor teaching. We welcome the opportunity to work in close harmony with our Firpark friends and our neighbours in Daisy Park Community Centre. We will continue to build on our strong partnership with both the parish of Our Lady of Good Aid Cathedral and St Luke’s.”

Facilities

Fr Thomas Miller, parish priest at Motherwell’s Our Lady of Good Aid Cathedral and chaplain to the new school, has celebrated Mass with teachers and pupils at their new home and was also impressed with the facilities offered by the school building.

“The new school is a fantastic building and the facilities are superb,” Fr Miller said. The recently appointed parish priest said that the cathedral will work very closely with the new school and he added that the reaction to the opening of the school within the community has been positive, despite some people’s initial reservations.

In addition to teaching and activity areas, Firpark Primary School includes a soft play room, teaching kitchen, physiotherapy room and a music room while the Daisy Park Community Centre provides facilities for local people, open during the day and in the evenings.

“The range of facilities at the new campus in Motherwell is really impressive,” Jim McCabe, North Lanarkshire Council leader, said. “I’m certain it will become a highly valued resource by pupils, parents and teachers.

“It demonstrates our commitment to giving our young people the best possible start as well as providing excellent facilities for the wider community.”

Like Ms Shields, Margaret Reilly, headteacher of Firpark Primary, was also suitably impressed to discover the new facilities her pupils would enjoy.

“Our new shared campus at Milton Street is a stunning and most impressive sight set in beautiful landscape with a view over the Campsie Hills,” Ms Reilly said. “We look forward with anticipation to working with colleagues and pupils from Our Lady of Good Aid Cathedral School and staff and users of Daisy Park Community Centre.

“There will be many opportunities for inclusion within our new campus which will greatly enhance the educational experiences for our pupils.”

The £19 million shared campus is the first primary school to open under North Lanarkshire Council’s new modernisation programme.