Educate Together is delighted to have been awarded patronage of a second-level school in Malahide/Portmarnock to open in 2017 and three second-level schools to open in 2018 in Dublin South City and Firhouse, Dublin 24 and Castletroy in Limerick.
- The school in Malahide/Portmarnock will serve 1000 pupils. Accommodation has not yet been confirmed.
- Scheduled to open in 2018 as a regional development solution, the Dublin South City school is slated to serve Dublin 2, 4, 6, and 8 and will eventually cater to 1000 students. The location of the school has not yet been confirmed by the Department of Education.
- The Castletroy school will open in 2018. School accommodation has not yet been finalised but the school is slated to eventually serve 600 pupils.
- The second-level school in Firhouse, Dublin 24 will cater to 1000 pupils and will open in 2018
Families in all these areas have long been lobbying for an equality-based secondary school. In addition to providing a second-level option for children attending Educate Together national schools, it is hoped that the school will provide some students with their first experience of Educate Together.
Carly Bailey, campaigner, Firhouse Educate Together Secondary School Campaign:
'Myself and many other parents have been campaigning hard for this school and we are delighted to finally see our work coming to fruition. The Educate Together model of education has proved so popular in Firhouse and the surrounding areas. We know that Educate Together gives children freedom to be themselves and parents the peace of mind that comes with knowing that your child is being nurtured in an atmosphere of equality. So we’re really looking forward to our children experiencing the continuation of Educate Together’s ethical education at second-level and trust it will be as rewarding as it has been at primary.'
Niall Wall, Regional Development Officer, Educate Together
'The passion and enthusiasm of the parent campaigners in Limerick has been amazing and I’m delighted that all the hard work has paid off. It’s been a pleasure to work with them and I’m sure that the Limerick Educate Together Secondary School community will be as dynamic and engaged as the campaign has been.’
All parents that expressed interest in the schools will be contacted shortly and the admissions process for all the schools will open in the coming weeks. The Admissions Policies and Forms for each school will be available at www.educatetogether.ie in the coming days.
Notes
- This result emphasises the desire of parents all over the country for their children have access to equality-based education from the age of four to 18.
- It is clear from the numbers of parents that expressed interest in these schools that the demand for Educate Together at second-level extends far beyond Educate Together national schools.
- The opening of a second-level school costs Educate Together €102,000, and there is currently no grant for voluntary management bodies opening second-level schools. Educate Together calls for the schedule of grants for opening new schools to be reformed as a matter of urgency. The opening of schools requires proper funding and proper planning.
