The Minister of Education, Sport and Culture has stated that the safeguarding of Castle Rushen High School pupils is the department’s priority amongst plans to re-develop the school.

Julie Edge has previously revealed that £3.3 million has been secured for the briefing and design development of Castle Rushen High School.

The money will fund a plan to replace the current southern school buildings, a long-running project which has already received £100,000 for studies and briefings.

Asked if there was any new developments on the progress of the development of the school by MHK for Arbory, Castletown and Malew Jason Moorhouse during Tuesday’s House of Keys sitting, Ms Edge replied: ‘The document that has been circulated to all honourable members is not a confirmed scheme or a plan - it is a broad vision of what may be possible on the site subject to funding and design specification.

‘All aspects of the plan and possibilities on the site will be considered in the design stage of the project.

‘There are still a number of processes to be undertaken regarding a full design and scheme, taking into account the needs within the educational environment, and most importantly the safeguarding of all pupils on the site.’

Tim Glover, MHK for Arbory, Castletown and Malew, asked Ms Edge about the impact of the development on Castletown as a whole, to which she stated: ‘The key priority of our department is Castle Rushen High School.’

She added: ‘The Department of Infrastructure has produced the timeline for the design stage. The “capital project procedure”, which I believe we did circulate, is very clear about how these projects progress.’