St Patrick’s GS Board is not in favour of proposal

SIR, — The Board of Governors of St Patrick’s Grammar School wish to make their position clear in relation to the development proposal recently circulated to affected schools by the Education Authority and published in your paper on September 11, 2019.    

The Board of Governors understand and accept the need for the rationalisation of post primary education in the area. However, they believe that this current proposal if implemented will:

• Reduce choice and fail to meet the needs of all the young people of the area

• Result in a long term split site school with no prospect of the funding needed for a single site

• Destroy the link between traditional primary feeder schools and post primary schools in the area

• Leave pupils attending schools outside a three-mile radius of Downpatrick severely disadvantaged

The Board of Governors of St Patrick’s have over the past number of years provided the Trustees and CCMS with a number of alternative options which would have avoided all these problems. None of these has been properly explored.

It is very important that parents realise that this is only a proposal for consultation. It is not a done deal. 

Over the next number of weeks, we will be providing more detail on the  reasons for our opposition.

We hope this will help parents to fully understand the implications for them if this proposal goes ahead and will assist them in responding to the statutory two-month objection period due to begin later this year.

Yours etc,

Dr Aidan Hamill,

Board of Governors Chair.