No deal reached after meeting over schools’ plans

A meeting between the Catholic Bishop of Cork John Buckley and three city schools has failed to bring about an agreement on how to deal with dropping pupil numbers.

The bishop had called the meeting to try to sort out a row sparked earlier this month when Scoil Mhuire Fatima announced its intention to enrol junior-infant boys from September.

The school insists there is parental demand to allow it teach boys all the way through the primary cycle, as an all-boys school at the North Monastery currently only has pupils from second to sixth class.