Major school development to go before Tynwald

A proposed extension to Ballakermeen High School aims to provide much needed learning, examination and dining space.

That’s if Tynwald agrees to back a £3.2 million scheme later this month.

The Department of Education and Children says as it stands, accommodation for the sixth form is ‘cramped and not conducive to learning at the highest level.

With increasing numbers of students staying on into sixth form, the situation needs to be addressed.

At its peak, there are exams for more than 600 students in the school hall, sports hall, gym and drama spaces - curtailing other activities.

Education chiefs say the extension would relieve this pressure, allowing normal activities to continue during exam periods.

They say the 30-seater dining room is inadequate for a school with 1,500 pupils.

The extension would be the latest investment in front-line education that began with new facilities at Ramsey Grammar and Queen Elizabeth II High Schools in Peel.

If approved, there would also be a new study area, a further dining hall, an enlarged common room, four extra classrooms and a tutorial room with work completed by October 2014.

Plans for the extension have already gone on show to local residents.