First Minister Officially Opens New Sandy Row Primary School

First Minister Arlene Foster has said that schools play a key role in inspiring and delivering social change.

The First Minister made the comments as she officially opened the Blythefield Primary School Garden in Sandy Row which received £40,000 of Executive funding from its Urban Villages initiative.

Minister Foster said: "It gives me great pleasure to officially open this wonderful new garden at Blythefield Primary School.

"Initiatives such as this are a great example of how an underused space has been transformed into a hub for innovative learning and a place which will inspire and bring people together.

"It is exactly the type of project the Northern Ireland Executive wants to support through the Urban Villages Initiative, as part of the wider Together: Building a United Community strategy.

"As this garden grows in the months and years ahead, the children of Blythefield will learn at first-hand how care, attention, hard work and patience can deliver wonderful results. I have no doubt it will have a lasting impact for the pupils and those beyond the school gates."

The Sandy Row area is characterised by a lack of public and private green space, making the provision of this garden particularly important to local children. The rooms enable the garden to be used by more than one class at a time and provide opportunities for formal and informal education, for play and for one-to-one working.

Junior Minister Megan Fearon said: "The local community helped identity the key priorities for the Urban Village area in South Belfast which included enhancing the area, improving health and well-being, and providing better access to facilities and activities for children and young people. 

"The Blythefield School project meets all these and shows what can be achieved when the local community and government works together to meet local needs. 

"Partnership approaches between schools and the wider community are key to our Urban Villages plans. Here in Sandy Row, the children of Blythefield and the community around it will grow along with the garden. 

"Through Urban Villages and other Executive Programmes such as the Social Investment Fund and Together Building a United Community, providing the seeds for that positive growth and building good relations are exactly what we are striving towards."

(MH/JP)