‘No magic wand’ on northside schools’ futures

Management at primary schools on the northside of Cork City are to meet and thrash out a way of ensuring their survival in the face of falling enrolments.

CEO of the Edmund Rice Trust, Gerry Bennett, said the chairpersons of the boards of management at the North Monastery, St Vincent’s Convent, and the North Presentation would meet to try and come up with a solution to ensure they can continue.

It follows an earlier proposal that the North Mon and St Vincent’s would merge on the St Vincent’s site, a suggestion which prompted a furious reaction from parents of children attending the North Mon.

The Edmund Rice Schools Trust is the trustee of the North Mon and the patron is Bishop of Cork and Ross, Dr John Buckley.

Mr Bennett made his comments at a meeting yesterday of the Oireachtas Education and Social Protection Committee.

He was responding to questions from Sinn Féin’s Jonathan O’Brien who said parents were still “in the dark” over the future of the school and any possible reconfiguration.

He also queried why any amalgamation would see the North Mon — which has extensive sporting facilities — merge with St Vincent’s, which does not.

Mr Bennett said: “The patron has asked that the chairs of the boards of management would come together of three or four of the schools to see if there is a way to guarantee the future success and continuance of those schools.”

But he added: “There is no magic wand.”

On the initial merger proposal since withdrawn, Mr Bennett said it had been a “reasonable, very genuine attempt to ensure the continuance of three schools” and that it had only been a proposal.

He said four options had been considered initially, but three others, including retaining the status quo, the three schools going co-educational or single sex, were deemed to not be viable because of falling enrolment or because of parental preference for co-ed schools.

It is understood representatives of the Gaelscoil Pheig Sayers may also be involved. One possibility that may be discussed would be to allow junior and senior infants enrol at the North Mon.

Language threatened

A group dealing with the fallout from the unexpected closures of five language schools has said others may shut down in future.

The Irish Council for International Students (ICOS) said the current situation was “unique” given the large number of students affected. The five language schools closed in April and May.

ICOS spokesman David Moore said many students were now nine weeks out of class, and some had “given up on Ireland” and gone home.

Many of those affected are from Brazil and Venezuela. Mr Moore said despite an announcement in 2009 of a new quality assurance framework for the sector, it was still under consultation.