The Minister for Education and Skills, Ruairí Quinn T.D. has hosted a colloquium on post-primary school design organised jointly by the Department and the Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland (RIAI).

The event is part of the process of bringing the education sector and the architectural and building design profession closer together in order to ensure that best practice is incorporated in the development of the new design brief for second level schools.

It follows on from last year's colloquium on primary school design. Following on from that event, the Department’s Planning and Building Unit and the Inspectorate are currently undertaking a Post-Occupancy Evaluation of recently built primary schools.

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The results of this evaluation will feed into a new competition which Minister Quinn hopes to announce for the 'Primary School of the Future' in 2013. This will replicate the successful competition held for the design of the new post-primary school in Kingswood, Tallaght.

Minister Quinn said: "The Kingswood competition attracted the highest ever number of entries for an Irish design competition, with 154 submissions, including 43 international entries from 14 countries.

"The fantastic response rate and the calibre of the submissions shows that the competition process is a valid alternative way of procuring new school designs and one which can be used for other projects at both primary and post-primary levels."

He congratulated the winners of the Kingswood competition, ARPL Scotland, as well as the joint runners-up, de Blacam and Meagher Architects and Coady Partnerships and the short-listed teams. He said he hoped these design teams would be able to contribute to future building projects in the schools sector.

(CD)