Red High digs in as battle looms over super college

Red High digs in as battle looms over super college

15 November 2017

AN all-ability college for Downpatrick will not happen on St Patrick’s Grammar School’s watch, the chairman of its Board of Governors has insisted.

Just days before hundreds of children undertake a transfer test at the school for 2018 admission, Dr Aidan Hamill has warned the school will “categorically” refuse to be subsumed into a new college unless selection is maintained and said the “strongly academic” grammar school must be central to reorganisation.

In a growing stand-off between the school and education officials driving plans for a new co-educational college, Dr Hamill, speaking publicly for the first time, said governors wanted to make their position clear.

Warning that a non-selective amalgamation of St Mary’s High School, De La Salle High School and St Patrick’s Grammar School, would not be in the best interest of St Patrick’s existing pupils or other children, he said no change to the school’s status would be made without governors’ agreement.

Dr Hamill was responding to an announcement last week by the trustees of St Patrick’s and the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools (CCMS) that they are now ready to progress plans for a co-educational college.

A single all-ability college for boys and girls, which would cater for over 1500 pupils, has long been mooted as the trustees’ vision for the town and they have worked behind the scenes in recent years to determine the best model.

Although details of the preferred option have not yet been publicised it will most likely be based on similar projects recently undertaken by the CCMS in which academic selection has been banished for children from feeder primary schools.

The CCMS last week announced that stakeholders, including parents and staff, will be asked for their views on a single school in the new year.

While Dr Hamill accepted governors’ responsibility to play a full part in the wider development of education in Downpatrick through consultation, he said academic excellence must be central. 

He revealed that governors had proposed a mechanism as to how this could be achieved, which would ensure that the overall vision for the area is realised.

“It is our hope and belief that a way can be found to realise the trustees’ vision to provide for the best possible education for all of the pupils of the Downpatrick area,” he said.

“However, this must include the most academically gifted and therefore, as long as academic selection is used by competing grammar schools in Northern Ireland, it will continue to be used by St Patrick’s Grammar School.

“We hope this makes the position of St Patrick’s Grammar School very clear. As we have said, this has been our position since the start of this process. 

“It has been made clear to all interested parties and while the situation remains as it is, this position will not change.”

Dr Hamill said the option of non-selective amalgamation being considered would not be in pupils’ best interests. 

“We would therefore like to state categorically that St Patrick’s Grammar School will not take part in any such amalgamation,” he said.

“The Board of Governors is the managing and employing authority of St Patrick’s Grammar School. 

“It is the only body that can make any change to the status of the school. To put it plainly there can be no change to the status of St Patrick’s Grammar School without the agreement of the Board of Governors. 

“This includes any proposal for a non-selective amalgamation, of which the Governors have repeatedly stated St Patrick’s Grammar School will not be part.”

St Patrick’s Grammar School trustee, Brother Patrick Collier, from the De La Salle Order, and Eve Bremner, director of Planning and Development, from the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools, yesterday said: “CCMS and the De La Salle Congregation, who are the planning authorities for the post-primary Catholic schools in the Downpatrick area, are committed to consulting on the future of post-primary education in the area by March 2018 and look forward to hearing from all stakeholders in this process.”