WORK has begun on an £11.4 million new school to serve a large inner-city parish in north Belfast.
The first sod was cut yesterday on the build for St Patrick's PS in New Lodge.
The school for close to 550 pupils is expected to be ready by June 2021.
St Patrick's was created through the amalgamation of Edmund Rice boys' and Star of the Sea girls' schools in September 2013.
It had been split across two sites, P1-3 at the former girls' school, and P4-7 at the boys' location.
The new build scheme was first announced in June 2014.
The project will see the completion of a school building as well as outdoor play and parking provision.
Members of the Edmund Rice Schools' Trust, Bishop of Down and Connor Noel Treanor and education minister Peter Weir visited the site yesterday.
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"This is a significant investment which will benefit pupils, staff and school management," Mr Weir said.
"I appreciate the patience and determination shown by the entire school community since the original announcement was made."
