02.12.2011
Parents: Sign Up now for new Church of Ireland school in Greystones
The Church of Ireland has entered the race for patronage of the planned new secondary school in Greystones. With several hundred signatures in the bag, campaigners are calling on all parents who have an interest in sending their children to a secondary school with a Christian ethos to sign up now. A secondary school under the patronage of the Church of Ireland is the only one of the current proposals that offers parents a Christian ethos.
The Greystones Secondary School Team has launched www.greystonessecondaryschool.com. Parents can log onto this website to fill in a form stating their intention to apply for a place in the new school for the year 2014 and beyond. They are also holding a public meeting on Monday 12 December at 8.00pm in St Patrick’s National School, Greystones. There they will present their plans for the new school and highlight the success of the other Church of Ireland run schools in the region.
In August the Department of Education announced that it was seeking patrons to run a new secondary school that would open in Greystones in 2014. It will be one of 14 new secondary schools to be built in the commuter belt region.
The campaign for Church of Ireland patronage is being spearheaded by Bray rector, Revd Baden Stanley. He and his hardworking team of local parents have gathered hundreds signatures in the last few weeks – including some from parents who wish their children to attend the new school in 2024. But they need 1,200 to be in with a chance of running the school. The deadline for their application to the department is 13 January 2012.
The Bray rector says there is a huge need for a new second level school in the North Wicklow / South Dublin area under the patronage of the Church of Ireland. The existing schools, East Glendalough in Wicklow town and Newpark in Blackrock are both full to capacity years in advance.
“There is a lot of pressure on families at the moment. In particular children in COI national schools in North Wicklow can’t get into East Glendalough because it is full and they they’re struggling to get into other local schools because they are late in applying,. Many parents want to retain a faith based education option for their children”, Revd Stanley explains.
Revd Stanley says the school would not just cater for students with Protestant links. “People of all denominations and none are invited to state a parental preference for their child to have a place in a Church of Ireland run school. We have always run an open and inclusive school system and this school will be no different. The fact that this school will have an annual intake of 120 pupils each year will facilitate inclusion. This current process is not about the allocation of places – we don’t have a school yet. It is about expressing a preference for what type of school you would like to see in Greystones. The option that we are advancing is the only faith based alternative for parents among current proposals – that matters to a lot of parents,” he states.
Revd Stanley is urging all parents interested in sending their children to a Church of Ireland school to log on to www.greystonessecondaryschool.com and fill out the form. Parents are also invited to attend the meeting next Monday.
For further information contact:
Revd Baden Stanley – Rector of Christ Church Bray – (087)
9484407
Lynn Glanville – Diocesan Communications Officer – (087) 2356472
Diary Date: Monday 12 December 2011, 8.00pm, St Patrick’s NS Greystones – Public meeting.