Ian Lowry, Woodvale-Lowry JV Limited; Ivor Sampson, Woodvale-Lowry JV Limited; and Mark Browne, Department of Education Permanent Secretary sign the contract for the Strule Shared Education Campus

The Department of Education in Northern Ireland has awarded the construction contract for the Strule Shared Education Campus to Woodvale Lowry Joint Venture Limited.

The local company will deliver the £375m shared education facility on the site of the former Lisanelly Army Barracks in Omagh. Construction will start later this year and the new campus will open in September 2028.

Commenting on the contract award, Education Minister, Paul Givan, said: “This is a momentous day for the Strule Programme.

“Any uncertainty is now over and I am delighted to deliver on this huge investment for the young people of Omagh.

“Strule will be the largest education construction project ever delivered in Northern Ireland and will bring a huge boost to the local economy.

“It represents a massive capital investment in the west of Northern Ireland and will stimulate further development and regeneration of the region.”

The Strule campus is a pioneering project that will provide a state-of-the-art shared centre of learning, bringing together six schools from across the community and incorporating grammar, secondary, and special school provision.

Over 4,000 children and young people from all backgrounds, will come together on a vibrant and dynamic campus.

And the schools will work together to provide a shared curriculum and a wide range of extra-curricular activities.

Givan said: “I am delighted we have reached this key milestone in the delivery of this iconic and unique shared education campus.

“The Strule project will be an education campus of world and international renown and a flagship for the shared society we are aiming to develop.”

The Strule Shared Education Campus Programme will provide six core schools (five post-primary and one special school) and associated shared education facilities on a 125-acre site in Omagh.

The six schools are drawn from the controlled, special school, Catholic maintained, and voluntary grammar sectors.

The schools involved are Arvalee School and Resource Centre, Christian Brothers Grammar School, Loreto Grammar School, Omagh Academy Grammar School, Omagh High School, and Sacred Heart College.

Arvalee Special School has already been constructed on the Strule site.

The Strule main works contract includes five school buildings, a shared sports centre, shared education centre, a sports pavilion and associated synthetic pitches, infrastructure, and site development works.