Positive reaction to Mill Stand's vision

The Parents' Council of Mill Strand School hosted a public engagement meeting in Portrush Town Hall last week to share ideas about the future relocation of the school.

It is the school’s vision to create a community campus, which would not only benefit the school but also the Portrush community all year around.

The Department of Education has given the school the go ahead to start a process of identifying a suitable site for relocation, or opportunities to extend on the existing site, whichever is found to be most feasible.

Back in 2015, Mill Strand put forward a business case to Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council for a possible move to the Dunluce Centre site.

However after much debate and a presentation from the school, the plans were turned down by members.

At last week’s meeting, the school outlined further their vision.

Mill Strand parent, Gemma Reid, gave a short presentation explaining how the potential investment from a variety of funding sources, could help the regeneration of Portrush.

She highlighted the benefits of putting the school at the heart of the community, outlining how shared facilities such as sports amenities, a community café, and closer collaboration between schools, could all benefit local business.

The reaction from the event was positive towards the idea of the school being a community hub.

Feedback showed that people were excited that the new school could contribute something extra to the local community.

Other feedback said that a pooling of resources between the schools could do “so much more together than any one school could do alone”.

It was felt that an integrated school, at the heart of the community, could attract families to live in the area which would help local businesses, and create further employment.

One parent said: “Make Portrush a beacon for improving integration in our country – we could be famous for more than just tourism and golf”.