A petition will be handed in at Stormont this morning in an attempt to reverse a decision to close the only Catholic post primary school in Derry’s Waterside.
Plans are in place to close Immaculate Conception College (former St Brecan’s) on a phased basis from September next because of a drop in numbers.
It is understood 120 students currently attend the school.
The Catholic Council for Maintained Schools (CCMS) has put forward recommendations that will see the school close next year.
Education Minister John O’Dowd has the final say on whether or whether or not it will shut its doors.
If approved, it will mean that no Year 8 pupils will start the school and no Year 11 and 13 pupils will begin GCSE and post 16 courses in this year with the school closing completely by September next year.
The matter is currently the subject of public consultation.
The closure of St Peter’s High School in the city’s Creggan area was also due to a lack of numbers attending. It is currently being demolished.
Pat Ramsey MLA
The Immaculate Conception petition, containing several thousand signatures, will be presented to the Speaker of the Assembly by Derry SDLP MLA Pat Ramsey.
Mr Ramsey said the closure “Immaculate Conception would be “catastrophic” to the local community.
He added: “Closure would put an unfair strain on children, asking them travel across the Foyle for their educational needs and it would deprive local groups their community hub and focal point for activities.
“Parents who have approached me feel that if the school closes we will be moving back 30 years, with Catholics being taught on the West Bank of the city and Protestants on the East.”
Department of Education decision making in Derry also includes moving the only post primary Protestant grammar school, Foyle College, across the river to the Waterside.
“We have worked for many years to devalue the Foyle as a barrier, now we are looking at the possibility of it becoming a boundary where children of Catholic and Protestant faith will be educated largely apart.”
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