80 per cent of pupils to be bussed into Enniskillen schools?

Editorial Department • Published 16 Feb 2012 13:00 0 Comments

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Rationalisation of post primary schools in Fermanagh could mean more than 80 per cent of pupils travelling into Enniskillen for their education in the future or an arrangement which could see some pupils in Fermanagh attending schools in neighbouring Border counties of the Republic.

Those were the real possibilities thrown up by this week's Northern Ireland Council for Catholic Education recommendations which if they came to fruition could mean only two post primary Catholic schools in Enniskillen rather than four at present and a third school in rural south-east Fermanagh to replace the three existing schools in that area. NICCE also recommend the closure of St. Mary's College, Brollagh and will look at St. Mary's College, Irvinestown forming a Rural Academy to serve North Fermanagh with St. John's High School, Dromore.

In total, NICCE recommend replacing the existing nine post primary Catholic schools with just three and a possible fourth in a partnership arrangement.

Their recommendations have gone further than the original proposal when they envisaged a maximum of three 11-19 years schools in Enniskillen and one in south-east Fermanagh. The two Enniskillen schools, they envisage, would later become co-educational.

NICCE also threw a lifeline to the south-east Fermanagh area, by saying while they want to initiate procedures for the amalgamation of the existing three schools of St. Aidan's High School, Derrylin; St. Comhghall's College, Lisnaskea and St. Eugene's High School, Rosslea into one new school, there could be possible provision on more than one site.

For the North Fermanagh area, NICCE and the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools hare keen to explore the feasibility of a 11-19 years Rural Academy to provide the for pupils residing in the Irvinestown and Dromore areas and whom are presently served by St. Mary's College, Irvinestown and St. John's Business and Enterprise College, Dromore, This development has already been sounded out by the Boards of Governors of both schools but now have just one month to produce a plan which can be considered by CCMS.

However for St. Mary's College, Brollagh, NICCE do not see anything other than its imminent closure and has recommended that trustees begin discussions with a view to consulting on closing its doors. But an Education Joint Communique from the North South Ministerial Council agreed to explore a survey to see if parents wanted to send their children to schools on the other side of the Border.

At present 15 post-primary schools serving the Protestant and Catholic sectors in Fermanagh cater for approximately 4,200 pupils but these schools are broken down by academic selection, religion and gender.

The Northern Ireland Council for Catholic Education report will lead to the phasing out of academic selection with recommendations to reduce the nine Catholic post-primary schools to three. Through this, they recommend that only two large single sex schools remain in Enniskillen meaning mergers of the four current schools; Mount Lourdes Grammar School, St. Michael's Grammar School, St. Fanchea's College and St. Joseph's College. Combined these schools have a total enrolment of more than 2,000 pupils and if St. Mary's High School, Brollagh was to close, the majority of those 145 pupils would move to Enniskillen as well.

However if academic selection was phased out and a new merger of St. Comhghall's College, St. Eugene's and St. Aidan's took place in the Lisnaskea area, the 200 children from this catchment area who at present are transported to grammar schools in Enniskillen would have less incentive to do so with the ending of academic selection and could possibly remain in their south-east Fermanagh area, slightly reducing numbers in Enniskillen and boosting numbers in rural south-east Fermanagh. The new merged Lisnaskea based school would on current enrolments have around 750 pupils, well exceeding the Sustainable Schools target of 500.

Conversely, the two proposed Enniskillen schools could have enrolments totalling around 2,400 pupils if all those currently attending Brollagh and Irvinestown schools choose to travel into the county town should they both close their doors.

Taking the Catholic sector and controlled sector schools together, around 80 per cent of Fermanagh's post-primary pupils could be educated in Enniskillen.

With a submission to the Department of Education proposing a controversial merger of Collegiate and Portora Grammar Schools and a new school to replace Devenish College still to be acted upon, there are huge implications for the futures of those schools now. Enniskillen Collegiate Grammar School has just under 500 girls, Portora Royal School has around 470 and Lisnaskea High School with 132 and Devenish College with around 575.

The future of Lisnaskea High School has been dogged by its low numbers and its rural isolation but one suggestion put forward this week wondered if it could share a role in a new merged Catholic school for the south-east in some form of partnership arrangement, even possibly sharing in some classes?

The fact is that 15 post primary schools in Fermanagh are presently serving 4,200 pupils built on academic selection, religious and gender criteria.

With academic selection likely to be phased out in the short to medium term and with most schools adopting co-educational status, what then is the possibility of removing the religious barrier which currently exist?

The NICCE report said everyone faced challenges of how to give their young people the opportunities to access excellence and relevant curricular in modern schools which were sustainable.

From next year, the Entitlement Framework Policy requests that post primary schools offer students access to 18 courses at Key Stage 4 and 21 courses at post 16.

"Phasing out transfer tests presents a challenge to deliver a non-selective system of transfer at age 11, falling pupil numbers, the Department of Education Sustainable Schools Policy and a minimum enrolment of 500 pupils at 11-16 years and 100 pupils at post 16," it said.

This article appeared in Impartial Reporter 16 Feb 12

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