Limavady: New campus building work to begin in Spring

Work on a new multi-million pound shared education campus in County Londonderry will begin later this year.

It will see Limavady High School and St Mary's High School share new state-of-the-art facilities including a centre for STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics).

They will remain as two separate schools.

The Education Authority's confirmation that work is to begin has been welcomed by the schools' principals.

"We have looked forward to this for so, so long," Rita Moore, principal of St Mary's told BBC Radio Foyle.

"This is the culmination of an awful lot of hard work," she said.

The two schools are currently located on sites on the town's Irish Green Street and are separated by a single footpath.

Pupils already move between the schools for a number of shared classes.

'Exciting times'

Limavady High School principal Darren Mornin said the new campus will include one of the only engineering suites in a NI post-primary school.

A sixth form centre, drama, careers and media hub are also part of the campus facilities.

"It is exciting times," he said.

Mr Mornin added: "The beauty of the shared campus and of shared education is that both schools can remain in their own ethos but share the facilities for the greater good for the education system".

Plans for the Limavady campus were first announced in 2014 following the launch of the Northern Ireland Executive's Together: Building a United Community strategy

Construction work is expected to start in spring and is expected to last two years.