Sadness over closure plans for Castlewellan Primary School

SIR, — I was sad to read last week about the closure of Castlewellan Primary School.

I really do not know what is happening when a town the size of Castlewellan cannot provide enough pupils to keep this controlled school going.

It sadly represents an end of an era and to think that just eight pupils will be attending this school for the rest of the year on their own seems a bit pointless, although I’m sure they will want to see it out.

To think that the school has the capacity for 110 pupils makes you wonder where all the rest are going to now.

I read that there is two months to go before the final decision is made and although I no longer have school-age children myself, I would urge local parents to support Castlewellan and, in fact, all local schools.

Education is a great privilege and we should regret any loss to it. Our education system and schools was the thing that marked Northern Ireland out from the rest of the UK but this seems to be no longer the case.

Yours etc,

Concerned 

Grandparent,

Newcastle.