Foundation stone laid at new £33.8m Manx school

The foundation stone for a new £33.8m school in the Isle of Man has been laid by the school's former head teacher.

George Quayle set the stone at the new St Ninian's lower school, which is being built at Bemahague in Onchan.

The school is set to open in September 2012, the Department of Education said.

It will accommodate the 800 students from years seven to nine from the current school, and will have space for 300 new pupils.

Laying the stone, Mr Quayle said: "I am ... confident that this splendid building will provide a wonderfully stimulating place in which the students of St Ninian's High School can learn and thrive.

"The high quality facilities on this magnificent site are clearly most appropriate in the education of our young people in the 21st Century."

Eddie Teare, Minister for Education and Children, said the ceremony was "an important step forward for the future of secondary education in the east of the island".