Northern Ireland

Fresh plans to merge three Co Down post-primary schools

Fresh plans to merge three Co Down post-primary schools are to go out to public consultation
Fresh plans to merge three Co Down post-primary schools are to go out to public consultation Fresh plans to merge three Co Down post-primary schools are to go out to public consultation

FRESH plans to merge three Catholic post-primaries into a single school - using academic selection to select some of its pupils - are to go out to public consultation within weeks.

Downpatrick's De La Salle High School, St Mary's High School and St Patrick's Grammar School would be brought together as a 1,600-pupil co-educational voluntary grammar by 2021, after a fresh development proposal was submitted to the Education Authority.

Earlier this year plans to include St Columba's College in Portaferry were dropped after concerns the current ferry service would not have the capacity to get all children to school on time.

The Downpatrick Post-primary Project Board (DPPB), made up of members from the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools (CCMS), Down and Connor Diocese and the De La Salle congregation, expect enrolment to begin on September 1 2021.

Pupils in the 11 "closest" feeder primary schools would not have sit a transfer test to gain entry.

However, those in 24 primary schools "for whom the school is not the nearest Catholic post-primary school" will only be able to gain a place by academic selection and account for up to 40 per cent of places.

CCMS said yesterday: "The Downpatrick Post-primary Project Board believes this proposal will strengthen and futureproof quality education provision for pupils at post-primary level in the Downpatrick area.

"The creation of a new, sustainable 11-19 co-educational voluntary grammar school will provide high quality education, a broad curricular offer and provide a range of learning experiences for all pupils."

The Education Authority will begin a two-month public consultation on October 1.

Afterwards the proposal will be passed to the education minister - or in their continued absence the department's permanent secretary - for a final decision.

The DPPB said it has already conducted "formal stakeholder consultation with parents, staff, governors and pupils".

The plan will see all three schools sites initially continue to be used, until "capital investment" increases capacity at the Struell Road campus, currently housing De La Salle High and St Patrick's Grammar.

An extension for 430 pupils will be required, with the St Mary's High School site likely to see Years eight and nine located there until the building work is completed.

St Mary's and De La Salle both have provision for children who have been identified as having moderate learning difficulties, but "the establishment of special units in the new school will be subject to a separate development proposal process" which will begin during this academic year.

The DPPB said their establishment "will be dependent on the proposals to discontinue De La Salle HS and St Mary’s HS being approved".

It insists the voluntary grammar model "offers the optimum level of flexibility in terms of admissions and management" and will "ensure the least disruption to the enrolments for non-selective post-primary schools outside the Downpatrick area".

However, the group Parents and Friends Association of St Patrick's Grammar School described the proposal as "ill-conceived and badly planned".

The BBC also reported that it expressed concern it would lead to some parents in the area seeking to send their children to grammar schools elsewhere.