Shake up put on hold

A series of options had been outlined for the controlled post-primary sector, all of which pointed to a move away from the Dickson Plan.

Option one would see a retention of Lurgan Junior High School and an amalgamation of Lurgan College and Craigavon Senior High on the College site.

Option two was for a single all abilities school on the Lurgan Junior High School site.

Option three was a proposal for two schools on two sites for children from the age of 11 upwards, one of which would be a grammar school.

However, in a dramatic turnaround education chiefs have decided to shelve plans to shake up the controlled sector in Lurgan.

The news came following a board meeting last month at which the outcome of a pre-consultation on the future of post-primary provision for the controlled sector of Lurgan was relayed to members.

On behalf of the advisory sub committee Rev Canon McKegney told the meeting that after a pre-consultation and following talks with representatives of controlled primary schools it emerged there was no overall consensus for any of the options considered.

An SELB spokesperson commented: “In the light of the results of this consultation, which provided no consensus on any of the options, and in particular the support from the primary schools for the retention of the two-tier system, the board agreed at its meeting on September 14 that it should not proceed to public consultation on the options outlined in the pre-consultation document.

“It was decided that officers should be charged with exploring other options and bringing forward proposals to address the difficulties at Craigavon Senior High School within the context of the wider Craigavon area and reflecting the outcomes of the consultation exercise.

“This work is currently ongoing.”