‘Excellent news’ - Big step for new Laois secondary school
Coláiste Iosagáin’s brand-new secondary school building which will accommodate 1,300 students in Portarlington
The delivery of a brand new secondary school for Portarlington has taken a big step forward with confirmation from the Department of Education that the project can now move to tender.
Coláiste Iosagáin is the biggest school in Laois and Offaly, with nearly 1,200 pupils. It has been left waiting for a new building for over a decade, relying greatly on prefab classrooms.
Principal Justin Brown described the news as “a very exciting and important development.”
Welcoming the progress Laois TD Sean Fleming said: “Portarlington is an expanding town and badly needs this brand-new secondary school building which will accommodate 1,300 students.
“This new modern state of the art building will also include facilities for special education.
“I look forward to the tender process being completed as soon as possible so that the contractor can be appointed to build this new school.”
It was announced in January of this year that Coláiste Iosagain made it to the Department of Education's school building list for 2026 and 2027.
A design team was appointed in 2014 to build an extension for the school but it was then decided the school community would get a new building.