Parents of Cork students at soon-to-be amalgamated school criticise merger plans

St Vincent's Secondary School on St Mary's Road in Cork City. Picture: Denis Boyle

Parents of Cork students whose secondary school is to be amalgamated with another from next year say the voices of students and parents have been ignored by the school's trustees and independent consultant over the move.

It was announced last month that the Department of Education had approved a proposal from Catholic Education Irish Schools' Trust (CEIST) and the Religious Sisters of Charity to amalgamate St Vincent’s Secondary School on St Mary's Road in Cork City with the North Presentation Secondary School in Farranree from next September. Both schools are all-girl schools.

The new amalgamated school, which is to become co-educational, will be located at the current site of the North Presentation School.

In a joint statement issued on September 19, management of both schools said the amalgamation's success would be ensured with "the full support of staff, parents and students".

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But on Tuesday, the student council of St Vincent's said the decision to amalgamate their school with another made "without the permission or opinions" of the students themselves.

Now, the parents' association of St Vincent's has also expressed concerns about the amalgamation.

It said parents were informed of a "consultation process" around the move in March 2021, a time during which the students returned to school "after months of online learning following the Covid lockdowns".

In a statement this evening, the parents said that, when they publicly expressed concerns about the process being the beginnings of an amalgamation, they were told this was not the case.

"They (the trustees and independent consultant) denied that the process would in any way lead to an amalgamation," the St Vincent's parents' association said.

The North Presentation Secondary School in Farranree, Cork City. Picture: Twitter

"It is now clear the trustees and the independent consultant have deliberately misled parents.

"They have not listened to the voices of our girls or our parents."

The parents said that though it may be in the interest of both schools to amalgamate, they are "extremely concerned" over the speed of the plan. 

Both schools are set to close at the end of this school year — August 31, 2023 — and the newly amalgamated school will open its doors for the academic year of 2023/2024.

"It will be extremely damaging to both our daughters' mental health and education for the proposal to proceed in its current form," the St Vincent's parents said.

Later in their statement, the parents stated that the proposed location of the new school — the existing North Presentation Secondary School site — has "inadequate" facilities and requires "major funding by the Department of Education, to bring it up to a suitable standard to accommodate all the students".

The time needed to complete these necessary works far exceeds the proposed timescale of the amalgamation.

"These works should be completed before any students transition to the proposed campus at North Presentation."

"We believe that both schools should be allowed a transitional period to come together as one school community before any dialogue of co-education can take place," the parents added.

The parents' association also said that, without prejudice to other school communities, they "strongly believe in the right to choose single-sex education for our children and question the motives of removing this choice in the north side of Cork City, while the Department of Education are actively funding such schools on the South side of our city."

"Education is not a case of 'one size fits all' while some students thrive in co-educational settings, others do not, these students have a right to receive an education in a setting best suited to them, within their community."

A spokesperson for the Department of Education told the Irish Examiner that the decision-making authority for any amalgamation or change of status of a school is the patron/trustees of the schools, subject to the approval of the Department.

"The Department has received correspondence from the patrons of North Presentation Secondary School and St Vincent’s Secondary School requesting approval to amalgamate and change of status to co-educational. This correspondence described a thorough local consultation process with school communities," the spokesperson said.

"This request for amalgamation and change of status has been granted."

The Department of Education spokesperson also said the patrons had requested "capital funding to facilitate the accommodation of the amalgamated school on a single site." 

They said that, following an assessment, the Department had determined "that the most appropriate location is the current site of North Presentation Secondary School." 

"The Department is currently engaging with the patron body of this school regarding this request for capital funding with a view to ensuring that the school accommodation will facilitate a broadened curriculum and make provision for students with special educational needs," the spokesperson added.