All schools saved after top review

All schools saved after top review

15 February 2012 - by DAVID TELFORD

CATHOLIC post-primary schools in East Down have all survived a radical education shake-up.

There will be no closures or mergers of the schools in Downpatrick, Ballynahinch, Crossgar, Castlewellan although the future of St. Columba’s College in Portaferry is to be subject to a review.

The Northern Ireland Commission for Catholic Education (NICCE) announced on Monday that St. Patrick’s Grammar, De La Salle High School and St. Mary’s High in Downpatrick will not be amalgamated as had earlier been suggested to create a new super college.

Instead, they will work together to create a “model of co-educational provision” for students aged between 11 and 19. The three schools have been asked to come up with a development plan aimed at maximising the use in Downpatrick of existing resources including staff and buildings.

The finished plan will then go to consultation with the new educational model expected to be ready for by September 2013.

NICCE officials have confirmed that Ballynahinch’s Assumption Grammar will continue to be a girls only school, ending speculation it would lose its single sex status as part of the post-primary education overhaul.

The review recommends the Assumption collaborates with St. Colman’s High School in Ballynahinch and other schools in the area to develop post-primary education, with provision at St. Colman’s to be “closely monitored.”

The school with most to celebrate is St. Colmcille’s High School, in Crossgar, which had been under threat of amalgamation with St. Colman’s. The report recommends provision at St. Colmcille’s should be closely monitored alongside, and linked very closely to, any developments in Downpatrick and Ballynahinch.

No changes are proposed for St. Malachy’s High School in Castlewellan which has over 1,000 pupils on the roll books.

In Portaferry the future of St. Columba’s College is to be reviewed to determine how best the educational opportunities for students may be achieved. It has been suggested the school could become a junior high school for 11-14 year-olds before children transfer to schools in Downpatrick.

St. Colmcille’s principal, Marian McGreevy, said she and the Board of Governors are “delighted” the school’s future has been assured for the foreseeable future.

Mrs. McGreevy has welcomed the findings of the review which she says “reflect the hard work and dedication of Governors and staff.” The principal said the facilities at St. Colmcille’s are continuing to evolve with a new home economics block scheduled to open this year.

“I am proud that St. Colmcille’s will continue to play a full part in the provision of Catholic post-primary education in the area and is committed to working alongside colleagues in other schools to ensure that first class educational opportunities are open to all in the community,” she said.

The various recommendations on the future of post-primary Catholic education in the Down area are now subject to a further period of public consultation before any final decisions are made.