Head’s comments on protestant pupil performance deserve support - O’Loan

SDLP Councillor Declan O’Loan has supported the Principal of Ballee High School in her call to improve the academic performance of Protestant working class pupils.

Ballee head, Gillian McCartney called on politicians, parents and community leaders to help stop the “growing academic under performance of Protestant working class young people” at the school’s recent annual prizegiving ceremony.

Responding, Mr O’Loan said: ““It is good to hear a Principal tackling this issue head-on. We all have to be worried when she says that the problem is getting worse.

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“There is a wealth of research now on the matter particularly from the Working Group led by Dawn Purvis. This shows that there is underachievement in controlled secondary schools when they are compared with their maintained counterparts. It makes it clear too that the main determinants of success lie outside the school. Hence there must be a solution found through a wide-ranging set of social measures.

“We need to address a lack of parental involvement in children’s education and a lack of value placed on education in certain areas,” said Cllr O’Loan.

He added: “One clear finding in international research is that overall school performance improves with socially balanced intakes. I think that this raises the question as to whether balanced intakes will be possible in a school system which has academic selection at the age of 11. Certainly addressing the point about social balance will be a prerequisite for success. Other areas for progress should include the front-loading of resources into the early years. I welcome the guarantee of a year’s pre-school education given in the Programme for Government.”

He continued: “The developing role of the Council in Community Planning are very relevant in this discussion. “Gone are the days when the Council said that educational provision was purely the concern of others. Ballymena is as good a place as any to start analysing and resolving our local problems in education, and work towards solutions which will give every child a real and equal opportunity in life. I am more than willing to cooperate in this enterprise.”

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