Burrenreagh all the way for campaigners

Burrenreagh all the way for campaigners

3 April 2013

A MAJOR campaign is underway to overturn a proposal to close a rural Castlewellan primary school.

Parents and staff of St. Patrick’s Primary School at Burrenreagh, have launched co-ordinated opposition to the proposal which was contained in the Draft Area Plan for Primary Schools published recently by the South Eastern Education and Library Board (SEELB).

There was widespread shock in the Castlewellan area at the closure proposal, the only proposed closure contained in the draft plan in the entire SEELB area.

At a special meeting last week in the Lodge Cultural Centre in Castlewellan, staff, parents, politicians and local residents were united in opposition to the proposal.

During the two hour meeting a strategy was developed with parents volunteering to undertake a series of activities aimed at proving the proposal is ill thought out and counterproductive to the educational welfare of the children.

There is much confusion over why St. Patrick’s has been singled out for closure given it meets all the criteria for a sustainable school except enrolment. There are currently 52 pupils at St. Patrick’s but the Department of Education (DENI) ideal for a primary school is 105 children.

However, there are several schools within the SEELB area with fewer than 52 pupils which have not been recommended for closure. For James Hunt, principal of St. Patrick’s that is a puzzling situation.

“There are other schools with less than 60 pupils but we were the only one to get the judgement that we got,” said Mr. Hunt.

However, the headmaster has been buoyed by the comments of Education Minister, John O’Dowd, who said the rationalisation of the primary school estate is not solely about numbers.

Mr. Hunt believes this gives St. Patrick’s a real chance of overturning the closure proposal.

“We are financially viable and we are educationally viable, both of which are difficult to achieve,” he told the meeting. “The only area we do not pass the test is in enrolment.”

Calling for a real community campaign of opposition, Mr. Hunt urged local people to sign a petition being circulated in the greater Castlewellan area calling for the school to remain open.

“I have had fantastic support from throughout the community, including the parents and that has been supremely encouraging,” he said. “I want to make sure that everyone stands together to show unity, a sense of purpose and a sense of moving forward.”

Mr. Hunt said one of the purposes of a draft area plan is to gauge local opinion to proposals and he warned the DENI, SEELB and the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools is waiting to see what is the community response to the plan for Burrenreagh.

“How can we tell the Minister about the school? How can we tell him about the role it plays in our community and the roll is has had in our community?

“The more people who respond to the draft area plan the better for us and the more people behind us the better for us. You don’t have to be a parent of a current pupil, anybody, anywhere is eligible to respond,” said the headmaster.

Mr. Hunt was given unanimous backing for a campaign to overturn the proposal which will include the gathering of statistics, the garnering of support from local businesses and the community, the co-ordination of the views of former pupils and a letter writing campaign, including from existing pupils.