Closing the Door

Ashton School echoes to the sounds of drills, hammers and rubble removal as the present red-brick building, holding a pivotal position overlooking Blackrock Road since the early 1970’s, is demolished.

The smell of freshly painted rooms is a pungent reminder of the work nearing completion as builders make hour by hour progress in order to meet the end of August deadline for return to school. All part of the process of change from ‘old school to new school’ at Ashton presently.

Staff and students are keenly anticipating entering ‘spang new’ classrooms in the three storey academic block, which will be furnished with ‘state of the art’ equipment, including ICT, artistic, creative and sporting facilities, in support of innovative teaching. An interesting facet of the architectural design of the new school, is the three-story glazed corridor which connects it to Ashton House (formerly Cork Grammar School), which will now be an administrative block. The old and new, being integrated gracefully.

Duggan Brothers are in the final stages of completing the entire project, with an approximate cost of 7 million euros.
History will be made with the initial cohort of First year students when they are greeted by Principal Mr. Adrian Landen, and Deputy Principal Ms. Anne Marie Hewison, as they start their Secondary School education at the end of August, continuing Ashton’s proud position as educator to many over the centuries.Mr. Landen is ‘delighted with the progress’ of the work and is eagerly looking forward to the start of a new academic year in a beautiful new school, as is Chairman of the Board of Management, Mr. Bella stefan John Deane.