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The transformation was approved by the then Education Minister Peter Weir in April this year, the culmination of a collaborative process driven by school staff, parents and school governors.

Carl Frampton, Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education (NICIE) patron, said: “It’s great to come out to Carrickfergus and see another school transform to integrated status.

“This is a credit to all the hard work and long hours put in by parents and teachers who want a more integrated future. I’m lucky, I got my integration through boxing, a sport where people from all sides mix. We need to see more Integrated schools like this so that children from all backgrounds can meet, play and learn together every day.”

Baroness May Blood and Carl Frampton visited Central Integrated Primary to help mark the school's transformation to integrated status. Declan Roughan Photography.

Baroness May Blood, Campaign Chair of Integrated Education Fund, added: “There is a real momentum behind integrated education at the moment. Central Integrated Primary School is just one of four schools that transformed at the start of the new school year, the largest increase in integrated schools at any one time for decades. It is great to see parents, schools and local communities leading the charge and helping to bring our young people and their families together.”

Nuala Hall, Principal of Central Integrated Primary School, explained: “Today is a really special day for our school community.

“It is wonderful to celebrate our new integrated status with such esteemed guests as Carl Frampton and Baroness Blood, two widely recognised champions of integration in our society.

“A lot of hard work has gone into getting us to this point but it has been worth it. Whilst we have always been proud to be a school that welcomed children from all traditions and backgrounds, it is important that we formalise and embed an inclusive ethos in every aspect of school life.”

Carl Frampton pictured with pupils on October 15. Declan Roughan Photography.

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Carrick school reopens with integrated status

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Frampton helps Carrick pupils celebrate integrated status