From the pages of the Down Recorder, November 2, 1994

From the pages of the Down Recorder, November 2, 1994

30 October 2024

TRANSFER TEST – Local school principals have backed the decision by Education Minister, Mr Michael Ancram, to scrap the first controversial 11-plus transfer test, following revelations that some children in the province had been practising on papers which contained the actual test questions.

The Minister announced his decision yesterday morning, after Department of Education officials carried out an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the test, which was carried out by 18,000 children on October 14.

Head teachers and parents were furious when news broke last week that papers, containing questions in both of this year’s transfer tests, had been circulating in some schools.

Announcing that the first test would be scrapped, Mr Ancram said transfer pupils would take two more tests on November 25 and December 7.

The November test had already been scheduled to be carried out, but a completely new set of questions has been drawn up for it.

The December date should please parents and teachers, who feared that another test would disrupt the Christmas holidays.

KILLOUGH – A bungled attempt to rob Killough Post Office yesterday morning is being investigated by detectives at Downpatrick police station.

Shortly after 10am, a man wearing a balaclava walked into the Post Office at Quay Lane, brandishing a handgun, but detectives are still unsure if the weapon was real or imitation.

He demanded a sum of money as an accomplice, who had the hood of his coat pulled over his head, waited outside.

However, the pair were forced to make off on foot empty-handed after the woman in the Post Office, who was standing behind a security screen, refused to hand over any cash.

Police were alerted following the attempted robbery and set up a number of checkpoints on all approach roads to the village in a bid to catch the culprits.

BALLYNAHINCH – The route of a possible Ballynahinch bypass has been identified and costed by the Department of the Environment, it has been revealed.

The undisclosed route will be four kilometres long and is expected to cost in the region of £4m, a Roads Service official has explained in a letter to local councillor Billy Alexander.

While any future by-pass or link road to avoid the town centre is not in the Roads Service 15-year programme, it is hoped that the imminent new Down Area Plan may indicate a greater need for such a road.

Mr Alexander said this week he is heartened that a route has been identified and he urged Roads Service officials not to allow it to lapse even if a start date was some way off.

He said such a road is vital to the economic future of Ballynahinch and he said he had the backing of the town’s Economic Development Committee in seeking a by-pass or link road taking through traffic away from the town centre.

DOWNPATRICK – Work has begun on a new £1 million science and technology block at Down High School.

The building, which will include four technology rooms and four new laboratories, is scheduled to finish in November next year, with the first pupils moving in after the New Year.

The school’s old swimming pool, which was used for many years by various schools throughout the district, was bulldozed to make way for the new block.

The principal, Mr Jack Ferris, said it was good to see the investment promised four years ago was beginning to materialise.

He said he hoped the science block would be the first phase in a major refurbishment scheme for the school.

CASTLEWELLAN – Job creation agency LEDU has this week delivered a massive snub to Down Council by point blankly refusing to meet with councillors to discuss a controversial report on craft development.

Senior LEDU officials yesterday said they would not meet with an influential council committee to discuss the report which is being blamed for the loss of a £250,000 craft centre project for Castlewellan.

The agency’s unprecedented decision has infuriated members of the Economic Development Committee who are refusing to accept the report until LEDU officials meet with them to discuss its recommendations.

However, LEDU officials in turn are furious that they are being made scapegoats for the collapse of the Castlewellan project and are adamant that nothing would be gained from such a meeting.

SAINTFIELD – One of Down District’s accident black spots is to be upgraded in a major £100,000 improvement scheme, senior Department of Environment chiefs have confirmed.

The twisting turns at Doran’s Rock, midway between Saintfield and Crossgar, are to be realigned and work on the scheme is expected to be completed in two phases.

Details of the scheme were outlined to councillors during a special briefing with Department of Environment Roads Service chiefs last Wednesday evening.

Divisional Roads Manager David Stewart explained the first stage of development work will result in major alignment work and when completed, traffic will be diverted away from Stevenson’s Quarry.

Initial work will result in the rock on the left hand side of the road on the approach to Saintfield being removed and used to stabilise the verge a short distance away.

DOWNPATRICK – The battle to site a controversial visitors’ centre in the heart of Downpatrick’s historic Grove area may end up in the courts.

Opponents of the proposed £5m project are believed to be considering seeking a judicial review if the “planned and unnecessary project” is allowed to proceed without a full environmental statement being ordered.

The question of the site’s location has caused major controversy and those opposed to the scheme say the time has come for the other sites which were initially identified to be re-evaluated.

Rowallane area councillor, Mr Albert Colmer, said he is concerned that “responsible people in elevated positions” are still backing the project.

He has suggested that land within the boundary wall of the Down County Museum should be looked at as a possible location for the new centre, which would be able to provide facilities for the disabled, the elderly and young children.

PORTAFERRY – A cash windfall has given Portaferry a sporting boost. The £135,000 grant, from the Foundation for Sport and the Arts, will be used to help renovate the town’s St Patrick’s Community Centre.

The building, based at Steel Dickson Avenue, was a former stitching factory, but was bought by the parish several years ago to provide recreation facilities for the entire community.

Although it is being used by Ballyphilip Youth Club, the local playgroup and sports teams, work has to be carried out to refurbish and modernise the 6,000 sq ft centre.

President of the centre’s committee, Canon Brendan McGee, said he was delighted with the grant.

“We are hoping to provide badminton, training for our hurlers and footballers and stage concerts and productions,” he said.

STRANGFORD – The Strangford Lough Management Committee’s first report has been officially launched by the new Environment Minister, Mr Malcolm Moss.

Details of the report were unveiled yesterday afternoon when Mr Moss stressed the importance of “partnership with the local community” in caring for Strangford Lough.

He said everyone shared a responsibility for the preservation of the “unique asset” and suggested the lough has the capacity to support most of its current activities at a reasonable level.