Schools’ fears

Last week at Stormont he appeared to signal the need to weigh the protection of his Department’s £17m investment in Lisneal in any decision to progress plans for the Foyle/Ebrington co-location and Magee’s related take-over of the current Foyle site in Springtown.

Alarm bells were left ringing when Mr O’Dowd said that in deciding whether to move the Foyle/Ebrington co-location project forward, he will have to ensure that Magee College’s expansion plans progress and that the recently completed £17m Lisneal College is protected.

Both Robin Young, Chairman of the Foyle and Londonderry Board of Governors and Ebrington Primary School Principal Nigel Dougherty have sought meetings with the Minister following the comments.

Said Mr Dougherty: “I have emailed him and asked him to come down to meet the board here. I’m glad he underlined the importance of the scheme but what stood out for me was the mention of Lisneal and that he keeps saying he wants to protect that investment. I’m not sure if he wants to protect one school over the other.”

Mr Dougherty said that as a key feeder of both Lisneal and Foyle he saw a roughly 50/50 distribution of Ebrington school leavers going to the two schools every year.

He said it was vital parental choice - extremely limited in the controlled sector in Londonderry in comparison to other parts of Northern Ireland - was protected.

He was also disappointed the Minister did not mention Ebrington explicitly during the course of his statement despite the school having had secured land for its move from WELB prior to the Department of Education specifically asking it to come on board the co-location project which it has fully committed to.

“Ebrington is being squeezed here,” he said. “It is not mentioned despite being one of the largest controlled primaries. That’s why I’ve asked him to come down. We are here on a 50-year-old site and we deserve a new school.”

Chair of the Foyle Board of Governors, Mr Young also stressed the importance of protecting parental choice but added: “The wider issue is the regeneration of the city and the expansion of Magee that goes hand in hand with that. The Foyle/Ebrington co-location needs to go ahead. It is a key cornerstone to kick start the entire project.”

He added: “There is a huge knock-on from this and the move is the first brick in the wall of improving wider educational provision in the city and all the political parties recognise that.”

The reaction was sparked by Mr O’Dowd’s remarks at the Assembly when he said he recently visited Lisneal College.

He added: “We have a £17 million project sitting there, and we have to ensure that we protect that.

“With the changing demographics and the fall in numbers across the board, it would be foolish of me and the Administration to allow that £17 million project to go to waste and to decline over the years.

“When we are coming to final decisions around Foyle College, we will have to ensure that the school moves forward, that Magee College is allowed to move in and that we protect Lisneal College.”

Chairman of the Foyle Ulster Unionist association Terry Wright said: “Now the Minister has spoken of protecting Lisneal College and his comments, in being open to interpretation, need clarification as to how he means to put this in place.

“We would hope to be in a position to welcome and support his proposals if they address our concerns, now acquiring even greater importance in the light of the recent Report into under-achievement amongst Protestant teenage boys.

“If the Minister can find a way of making available extra funding to controlled schooling, even in the short-term, this will be welcomed.”

Mr O’Dowd said significant reductions in his capital budget will have a detrimental effect on his ability to deliver his school building programme.

Speaking in the Assembly Mr O’Dowd also said he would be happy to meet a delegation comprising the Foyle College Principal, the Chairman of its Board of Governors and the Foyle SDLP MLA Pat Ramsey, who pressed him on the temporarily stalled co-location.

Mr O’Dowd said: “The Executive Budget, however, highlights significant reductions in capital resources for education during the next four years, which will have a detrimental effect on the Department’s ability to deliver a school building programme.

“It will, therefore, be important to consider how the limited capital funds that are available should be deployed on a strategic and prioritised basis to address the most pressing needs and to secure maximum educational benefits for children and young people. “

That work will be a priority for me and my officials in the coming months.”

Mr Ramsey said he appreciated the dilemma the Minister faced but added: “Last week, I met the chair of the board of governors and the principal of Foyle and Londonderry College, who made it clear to me that the project started in 1995.

“It is a long time in moving. In 2001, I attended a meeting in the city regarding a number of Departments looking at the three-way educational development, involving the university, the expansion of the northern campus and St Mary’s College, a secondary school that has since moved.”

The Londonderry MLA asked if Mr O’Dowd “would be kind enough to meet the chair of the board of governors, the principal and myself to discuss the project?”

He replied: “Yes, of course I am happy to meet you and a delegation from the college. One of the reasons why it is important to have a local Administration is that it gives accessibility to the citizens we serve.

“I am acutely aware of the frustration and disappointment not only of schools such as the college in Derry but of others across the north.

“Not only am I the Education Minister, I am an MLA for a constituency, and I am aware of the difficulties and pressures placed on schools that are awaiting builds, especially in the longer term.

“I am also aware that this project is part of a wider development for an economic brief for Derry.

“If the build goes ahead, Magee College can move in, and other things will fall into place.”