Ballycotton school becomes the sixth to close this year

A PRIMARY school in east Cork has become the sixth in the country to shut its doors this year.

Despite chronic overcrowding in some parts of the country Churchtown South Primary School, near Ballycotton, has failed to attract pupils for the new term.

The Department of Education has confirmed five other national schools wound up in June due to amalgamations and declining numbers. This is an increase of one closure from the previous year.

Fr Donal O’Mahony, who is on Churchtown South’s board of management, said no pupils had enrolled for 2007/2008.

He blamed this on the isolated location of the school and the movement of people toward large towns.

“Basically it is a school that does not have any pupils and can not keep going. The principal has just come in for September to see if there would be any enrolments, but there have not been any so it will be able to stay open.

“The reality is there is very few children living in the area, with people moving to new built up housing estates and I cannot see this changing in the near future,” he said.

Six pupils attended the school last year but these did not re-enrol during the summer.

A spokesperson for the department said an official has asked the school for an explanation of its status.

He denied the school had been the subject of a recent internal renovation.

“No capital funding has been spent on the school in the past five years,” he said.

Fr O’Mahony said it is unlikely Churchtown South will re-open in the short-term.

He denied suggestions pupils had been pulled from the school because of a dispute between local parents and teaching staff.

“I won’t be commenting on that matter. It’s just that there was no pupils to enrol this year and I expect the principal to be re-deployed to another school by the department later this month,” he said.