Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Fight to save GCSE specialist school
Outrage at site’s ‘awful conditions’
BOXER Michael Conlan turned up the heat during a public workout yesterday.
Fans basked in glorious sunshine as they watched the 26-year-old go through a brief pads session outside Belfast City Hall.
The unbeaten featherweight will take on experienced Brazilian Edeilson dos Santos at the SSE Arena on Saturday night – the first time he has fought in his home city since turning professional in 2016.
He said: “It is great being back in Belfast and preparing to fight in front of my own fans. I have fought at Madison Square Garden and in Australia, and this ranks up there.” PARENTS are fighting for the future of a unique Northern Ireland secondary school.
They are calling on the Education Authority to save the Lurgan campus of Craigavon Senior High – the only school in the UK that caters solely for GCSE students.
It was developed across two sites as part of the Dickson Plan which offers a two-tier system of junior and senior high schools.
The senior school caters for 579 GCSE pupils, the majority of whom are on the Portadown campus.
The row began in 2016 when governors considered closing the Lurgan site amid concerns about health and safety, safeguarding and sustainability.
But parents want their kids moved to temporary accommodation on the site of the junior school in Lurgan while the senior campus is made fit for purpose.
Community representative Norman Mawhinney said there was widespread concern about uncertainty over the school’s future.
He added: “Our local sports clubs and politicians all agree with the need to keep these children in Lurgan. What we do not want is for them to continue to be educated in these awful conditions.
“People are prepared to fight for what they want for their children. We are stepping up our campaign by calling on governors to step aside.”
Governors had wanted to bus pupils to Portadown – but the proposal was dropped following a backlash by parents.
MLA Doug Beattie claimed the problems had been “obvious for 15 years”. He said: “The Lurgan campus was only supposed to be a temporary solution years ago when the Dickson plan was rolled out.
“It does not have playing fields, the pupils have to eat their lunches between parked cars and there are safeguarding concerns around its proximity to the Southern Regional College. It is a sorry state of affairs. The problem is that instead
YESTERDAY
of fixing the issues at the school, it has been allowed to run down. There is a feeling the Dickson Plan gives everything to the 60% selected for grammar college and the rest are being neglected. It is truly awful.”
An Education Authority spokesman said: “There is broad agreement across all stakeholders that short, medium and long-term action is required. We will continue to support the staff and governors of Craigavon Senior High School as they seek to continue to improve standards and care for the pupils on both campuses.”
The principal of Craigavon Senior High School was unavailable for comment.