Change in School Structure
The school started off in the glorious building that is The Hevey Institute. For more than a hundred and sixty years it has stood tall in Mullingar depicting symbolism of education in the town. Since 1924 Secondary schools began receiving a capitation grant for each recognised pupil and not based on exam results. The sums were 11 pounds for juniors and 16 pounds for seniors. Contrary to what is sometimes thought, the capitation grants for schools did not depend on the Certificate Examination results (Ó Raifeartaigh, 1958).
Since 1924 Secondary schools received a capitation grant for each recognised pupil. The sums were 11 pounds for juniors and 16 pounds for seniors. Contrary to what is sometimes thought, the capitation grants for schools did not depend on the Certificate Examination results (Ó Raifeartaigh, 1958). This led to an increase in more pupils attending school.
Something has to be done to accommodate this influx of new students as the school did have a maximum capacity and it was only in the 1940’s that the classical school was gradually combined with the general school to form one overall general school. Unfortunately there isn’t any evidence of a definite date as to when the two schools combined but it’s been roughly estimated by the schools historian that it amalgamated sometime in the 1940’s.
The next progression in the school was when the now St. Mary’s primary school was built. The present school building dates from 1959 and was extended in 1979 (St. Mary’s Mullingar, 2011). This stemmed from the increase of pupils attending both primary and secondary schools.
In 1957-8, however, the 489 secondary schools in Ireland had 66,221 recognised pupils, with this an average annual increase of 3000 pupils between 1953-4 and 1957-8. Even with the General school and the Classical school combining, with the overall increase of students attending schools nationwide it was well-timed to have built the junior school in 1959 to relieve the Hevey building allowing it to be the main Secondary school building.
The advent of free education in the 1960’s changed secondary education forever. Among the many changes which followed the birth of the Yellow buses which brought pupils in from outlying parishes and villages. This led to funding for a new building to be built providing extra classrooms and science labs for the variety of subjects that were being taught in Irish schools at the time. This stemmed from the fact that the Hevey Building was in need of refurbishment. The new secondary building was opened in 1971. It was an exciting time for both the school and students.
The sports gym was built in 1980 to accommodate the needs of many young boys to play a variety of sport. This helped progress the schools already prolific sporting tradition.
The school continued to grow in size and numbers of attending pupils. A new extension of many new classrooms, a new technology room, and a new woodwork/construction room was built and opened in 2003. The next massive project of the school was to completely refurbish the Hevey Institute and link it with the 1971 building with a two-story glass corridor. It was a massively difficult and expensive project funded by local grants and donations. It was completed in 2012 and linked the new building with the building of old to form one magnificent institute of secondary education. This link between the present and past building truly helps reflect how the ethos and mission of the school has remained over its 160 year history.
The new glass corridor connecting the Hevey institute to the Seconday school.
Coláiste Mhuire Mullingar 