Department Of Education Gives Go Ahead For School Merger In Downpatrick
The CCMS (Council for Catholic Maintained Schools) Project Board has commented on the decision on Friday 14th October by the Department of Education to back the three-school merger in Downpatrick.
The Council for Catholic Maintained Schools [CCMS] is the managing authority for all Catholic maintained nursery, primary and post primary schools.
Established under the auspices of 1989 Education Reform (Northern Ireland) Order, the Council’s primary purpose is the provision of an upper tier of management for the Catholic Maintained Sector with the primary objective of raising standards in Catholic maintained Schools.
A statement from the CCMS said: “The Trustees of the three Catholic post-primary schools in Downpatrick and the CCCMS welcome the Education Minister approving the proposal to establish a new co-educational, 11-19, voluntary grammar school for 1,600 pupils in the town.”
The Downpatrick Post-primary Project Board consists of members drawn from CCMS, the Down and Connor Diocese and the De La Salle Congregation.
“The proposal will bring together De La Salle High School, St Mary’s High School and St Patrick’s Grammar School to create a new grammar school in the trusteeship of the De La Salle Congregation.
“The new co-educational post-primary school will have a vision and ethos of inclusion and educational excellence in keeping with the tradition espoused by the Catholic family of schools.
“The proposal offers the potential for all children from a family to be educated together at post-primary level, similar to their experience at primary school in the area.”
Br Pat Collier, Trustee from the De La Salle Congregation said: “This proposal will strengthen and future-proof 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 a range of learning experiences for all pupils.”
Saint MacNissi’s Educational Trust (Diocese of Down & Connor), Trustee of St Mary’s High School, Downpatrick added: “This new school will draw together the rich heritage of excellence in education provided by the three schools to strengthen and futureproof high-quality education in the Catholic tradition for the Downpatrick community.
“Building on the existing, strong cooperation between the three schools, the Trust is confident that the three communities will work together to create a vibrant learning community at the heart of Downpatrick.”
The new co-educational post-primary school will have a vision and ethos of inclusion and educational excellence in keeping with the tradition espoused by the Catholic family of schools.
The proposal offers the potential for all children from a family to be educated together at post-primary level, similar to their experience at primary school in the area.
CCMS and Trustees look forward to working with the school communities in establishing the new school.
Details of the development proposal for the merger are available at”
https://www.education-ni.gov.uk/publications/dps-604-607-downpatrick-post-primary-schools
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