Asbestos found after six rooms flooded in school

Corridors were under two inches of water after the flood in Lurgan Junior High School, a building which is over 50-years-old and in serious need of repair according to the principal.

Joe Johnston told the ‘MAIL’: “Repairs to the damage are still going on. The cost has run into hundreds of thousands of pounds.”

Mr Johnston explained that on Friday, December 28 pipes burst in the roofspace on the top floor of the old girls’ side of the school.

He said: “This had nothing to do with frost, it’s just an old building.

“Water was flowing down into the two top classrooms, and then into the two below that and the two below that. The water brought the ceilings down and three corridors were under two inches of water.”

When the recovery operation began asbestos was discovered on the water tanks in the roofspace, which significantly added to the cost of the tidy up. It’s understood the removal of the asbestos alone will cost in the region of £50,000.

Lurgan Junior High School has a maintenance backlog in excess of £1.2million and the principal is in favour of the amalgamation of the three controlled post-primary schools (Collegiate Plan) to remedy accommodation issues.

He said: “This school was built in the 1950s and opened in 1959. As far as coming up to spec is concerned there are a lot of issues.

“We got new sports pitches, the art and design department was upgraded and we had new music facilities, but as far as the design of the school is concerned it isn’t up to spec.”

He added: “Everybody knows that all three schools (Lurgan College, Lurgan Junior High School and Craigavon Senior High) have accommodation issues and all need new builds. This is one of reasons this school is backing the Collegiate Plan.”

He commented that the completion of Millennium Way would also be important in order to improve traffic flow around the school.