Country’s last all-male vocational school opens its doors to girls
Nagle Community College in the Cork suburb of Mahon was forced to accept a girl into first year last autumn after a successful appeal against the school’s refusal to enrol her, because it emerged that its admission policy did not specifically state that only boys could attend.
Since Megan Kavanagh began at the school in September, the school board and City of Cork Vocational Education Committee (VEC) that funds it have consulted with local community and educational parties about the level of interest in opening the doors to females.
They decided in February to allow enrolments for females, but for first-year students only, to start from this autumn.
The department’s decisionto allow the re-designation as a mixed gender school means that applications for girls wishing to begin their second-level education at Nagle Community College in September are being accepted.
“The parents of seven girls due to start first year in September have already indicated their interest and it is now open for any others to apply also,” said City of Cork VEC chief executive Ted Owens.
He said the VEC would continue to keep management of the nearby Ursuline Convent girls’ secondary school in Blackrock updated on developments, as it was intended to ensure there would be no impact on enrolments there.
The gender policy change was prompted by demand, which Mr Owens said predated the enrolment appeal case last summer, for a choice of a co-educational second-level school in the Mahon area. Nagle Community College already has dozens of female students on its many further education and post Leaving Certificate (PLC) courses.
The number of second-level students has fallen to below 200 in recent years, as the young population in the area has been declining.
