An East Derry MLA has called for urgent clarity on the status of the new Causeway Academy after governors from Dunluce School withdrew from the interim board.

SDLP MLA Cara Hunter said the three schools – Dunluce School, Coleraine College and North Coast Integrated College – had been “thrown into total disarray”.

Ms Hunter was speaking after a letter, which was posted on social media, from the five Dunluce governors to the Education Authority (EA) said they felt “there is a total misunderstanding of what governance is within a school”.

The letter said that the governors felt they had to withdraw “with immediate effect” from the interim board of the Academy, adding that pupils “appear to have been forgotten in this process”.

placeholder image — Dunluce School, Bushmills

Causeway Academy is due to open in September 2026, not on a new site on Ulster University’s Coleraine campus as had originally been suggested, but operating from the three existing school sites.

MLA Hunter said: "This integrated school was supposed to open next September to improve education outcomes across this area. We have no clarity on a future site for Causeway Academy and how the amalgamation will work going forward,” she said.

“The public messaging around this from the Minister and his department has been totally lacking and parents of current and prospective parents at these schools and staff are rightly frustrated.

“The decision of members of the interim board to tender their resignation shows just how serious this situation has become. The Minister must intervene urgently to provide clarity around Causeway Academy before this situation deteriorates further.”