Construction Milestones

Leading contractor GRAHAM has reached a significant construction milestone in the delivery of Down High School on Strangford Road, Downpatrick, as the building tops out.

The £33million project will create a state-of-the-art education campus including a sports hall, PE facilities and sports pitches, catering for up to 950 pupils.

GRAHAM is now underway with the next phase of works which includes completing the block work, screeding floors and making the building wind and water tight ahead of the high-quality internal fit out. A completion date is expected in early summer 2025.

Minister for Education Visits

Paul Givan, Northern Ireland’s Minister for Education, visited the site earlier this year and was pleased to see the new school taking shape.

He said: “Once completed, this impressive new building will provide state-of-the-art facilities for the pupils, teachers, governors, community and wider South Down. I commend the hard work undertaken by everyone involved over decades, to get this project to this exciting stage and I look forward to seeing the new school open.”

Local Impact and Community Involvement

The development is a passion project for the team involved, with many of the construction staff living locally and a number having attended Down High School in their youth.

Gary Holmes, Regional Managing Director for GRAHAM Building North, said: “GRAHAM is proud to deliver a best-in-class education campus which will greatly enhance learning facilities for future generations growing up in Downpatrick.

“We have a proven track record of constructing exemplary education campuses across the UK. However, there’s no doubt that Down High School is a very special project for our site team, with many having attended the school as pupils. We look forward to progressing the next phase of construction as we target practical completion in summer 2025.”