‘It has just been magical’ said Vice Principal of Ardnashee on their new school in Derry

Speaking to the Journal onsite as the first students arrived, Principal Raymond McFeeters described the journey to get to this point.

“It's been a long process,” Mr McFeeters said. “The money was released for this school probably 10 years ago, then a few years in the design stage, then a two-and-a-half-year build to get to where we are today.”

Overjoyed with the school, Mr McFeeters added: “Just to see the joy and the excitement of the kids as they come off the buses makes all the hard work from all the staff worthwhile, so it's a really emotional day.

"It's a big change for everybody, so it will take us a bit of time to settle in, but we are absolutely delighted with the building, we believe that our kids really deserve this.”

Vice-Principal Sinead Crossan described the day as ‘magical’.

“Watching them come in the gates, waving and getting really excited as they approach the front door, it's been really uplifting this morning for the staff, students, and the families as well. The building is like stepping into Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and seeing all these magical rooms that are really outside the box and creative – and that's what we wanted to achieve, we did not want traditional. Traditional does not work well for our students.

“I think everybody should come and have a look at what we have got to offer, from immersive rooms to drama and dance studios, a hydrotherapy pool, and a rebound therapy room. There’s just so much for our children, and they deserve it.”

Vice-Principal Crossan explained how they prepared pupils for the transfer. She said: “We worked off the model of social stories and videos of the children initially, just building up the idea that this big project was happening behind the scenes and that they were very much a part of that.

“Then we started embarking on different visits where they came up to the school site, they had a look at the different classrooms, they tried out some of their immersive rooms and the studios.”

Other Ardnashee pupils are expected to transfer from Belmont to the new school on a phased basis.