No school for nearly 500 pupils in Coleraine due to an ‘electrical failure'

Nearly 500 pupils have been give a day off school today (Friday) following an ‘electrical failure’ at a Coleraine secondary school.

Coleraine Grammar School issued a statement to all parents/carers of Year 8, Year 9 and Year 10 pupils around 8pm last night (Thursday).

It read: ‘Dear Parent/carer, The electricity at the Lodge Road failed late this afternoon, so Lodge Road will be closed on Friday 6 October for pupils and staff. The Castlerock Road will be open and the Castlerock Road timetable will operate as normal for pupils in Years 11 to 14. Parents should not send pupils in Years 8, 9 and 10 to school at Lodge Road on Friday, and if you are unable to arrange childcare at short notice, pupils in Years 8, 9 and 10 should come to the Castlerock Road (with school bags and a packed lunch if possible) where they should report to the Humphreys Hall and will be supervised all day. The Castlerock Road canteen will be available to Year 8, 9 and 10 pupils who are unable to bring lunch or who have free school meals.

“Apologies for the inconvenience, and further information will be communicated on Friday when we know more about next week.”

It is believed there has been a flooding issue within the Lodge Road part of the school that has led to the closure with plumbers and electricians onsite this morning.

Coleraine Grammar School has a collective history of some 300 years from two renowned founding schools: Coleraine Academical Institution and Coleraine High School.

At present the school operates on a split site basis with the three lower year groups on the Lodge Road, the former girls school, while the older classes are based on the historical Coleraine Inst site on Castlerock Road.

In September 2015, the ‘second oldest girls’ school in Northern Ireland came together with Coleraine Academical Institution to form Coleraine Grammar School.

The school recently started construction work on the Castlerock Road site following approval of an over £11.5million investment from the Department of Education.

This investment will see the creation of new buildings and facilities which will enable the whole school to be situated on a single site on the Castlerock Road for the first time from September 2024.

Renovation works include the construction of a new building to house the home economics and music departments as well as excellent study and social facilities for sixth form pupils. The significant construction project will enable a reconfiguration of the school estate and see the school’s over 1,000 pupils educated together on the same campus for the first time since its establishment in 2015, following the merger.