Parents to fight against closure of 12-pupil school

A CAMPAIGN has been launched to save a 12-pupil national school, close to the Cork/Kerry border.

Parents of children attending the tiny school at Shrone, in the shadow of the Paps Mountains, are pleading with Education Minister Mary Hanafin to keep their school open.

The school is due to be closed, and the plan is to bus the children to a new €2m central, amalgamated school being built in Rathmore, about four miles away.

Secretary of the Shrone Parents’ Committee, Michelle Twomey, said yesterday that the loss of their school would have a very negative effect on the close-knit community.

“We fully support the new school in Rathmore, but feel it can go ahead without Shrone,” she added.

“The population of Rathmore is growing rapidly and many more new houses are planned for the village. They will have enough pupils without Shrone.”

At present, Shrone school, which was built in the 1950’s, has 12 pupils, just sufficient to retain its two teachers.

However, Ms Twomey said and an additional six pupils were due to start next September and they could have up to 25 attending the school within four years.

“New families are setting up in the area and the population is growing. The future looks good,” she said.

A petition against the proposed closure has been signed by 250 people and a letter-writing campaign is also underway.

At a public meeting called by the parents, a number of public representatives including Labour Deputy Breeda Moynihan-Cronin and Cllrs Tom Sheahan, Danny Healy-Rae and Tom Fleming pledged their support to the parents.

Meanwhile, the parents’ committee is seeking a meeting with the Department of Education and other educational authorities to ensure Shrone school reopens next September.