Parents' delight as rural school escapes closure

A County Tyrone primary school named after Queen Elizabeth II is to stay open after a proposal to close it was rejected by the education minister.

The Education Authority (EA) carried out a consultation on a proposal to close the school in August 2024.

Sandra Coulter, whose son Sam attends the school, said keeping it open is the "right decision" and everyone is "so delighted".

Other parents commented that the school is "at the heart of the community".

The school in Kilskeery has 40 pupils and is one of only two in Northern Ireland named after the monarch.

The EA has previously said that there were too many small and unsustainable rural schools in Northern Ireland.

The school's principal Joyce Clingan said: “Small schools have their place in the community.

“I have no problem with larger schools either, I have worked in big schools before I came to Kilskeery and big schools have their advantages and small schools have their advantages.

“I think it needs to look at what is needed for the local community and we want to help rural regeneration and hopefully small rural schools will be allowed to continue to help that process.”

Ms Clingan said the timing of the news was unexpected, as was the decision, but "everybody in the school, the whole school community, the local area - we are absolutely delighted".

In a letter to parents, Ms Clingan wrote that the "fantastic news" meant the school was "no longer under the threat of closure".

She added that more than 300 objections had been submitted against the proposal.

The school was built in 1953 during the Queen's coronation year and is beside the local parish church.

It was one of four schools which had closure plans postponed in April as the Education Authority said it was still awaiting a ministerial decision and would not be in a position to take forward a closure in this academic year.

Parents and pupils have also welcomed the decision by the education minister.

Ms Coulter said the school is "incredibly important to this community".

“I have had three sons come through this school and as a parent that is not from this area, it brings the school together and introduces you to new people," she said.

“When we heard the news on Monday afternoon from our principal, we just couldn’t believe it.

“The news spread so quickly and everybody was just so excited and so pleased, including Sam [her son], we are just so delighted.”

Two of Keith Latimer's children have attended the school.

He said it was a “fantastic achievement for everybody that was involved” in trying to keep the school open.

“A great thing for the community and we are very appreciative of the powers that be,” he added.

“It was looking very certain that it was shutting, but it was great news that we were getting an extra year and then this news coming is just fantastic, because it does so much for the community and it is the heart of the community.

“It is wonderful to see the future of the school staying open.”

Andrew McCormick said he has a boy in P1 at the school at present.

“He is over the moon that the school is staying open," he said.

“He didn’t really understand what was happening at the start, but when it was all explained, he is just delighted.

“I have a young lad that is going to be starting this school and at least I know he is going to be able to go to it which is fantastic news.”

Speaking in the Northern Ireland Assembly, DUP assembly member for West Tyrone Tom Buchanan said it was good news.

“For over 70 years this school has served the rural community with distinction, providing a high quality of educational excellence.”

He said the last inspection report had deemed the school “outstanding” in educational achievement.

The report also said it had stable enrolment trends, a sound financial position, demonstrated strong leadership and management and had strong links with all sections of the community.

“Yet despite this excellent report the Education Authority decided that because it failed to meet their 105-pupil enrolment policy it should close,” Mr Buchanan said.

“Since 2017 the Education Authority, through their area planning, did all in their power to close this school, the very hub of the rural community, with closure planned for the summer of this year.”

Mr Buchanan said he wanted to issue a challenge to the Education Authority.

“Rather than pursuing their aims to close the smaller rural schools that are in such good standing, ripping the heart of the rural communities, they must pursue a different agenda by working in collaboration with the smaller rural schools to help strengthen and sustain them through a number of various other mechanisms.

“While the parents, board of governors and teaching staff of Queen Elizabeth II primary school have demonstrated great resilience over the past five years of the EA’s pursuit of closure, I challenge them now to work with the school to repair the damage that they have caused them over those years.”

BBC News NI has contacted the Education Authority for comment.

The Department of Education confirmed that following a "detailed and careful consideration" of the development proposal relating to Queen Elizabeth II Primary School, the education minister had decided that the proposal to close the school "should not be approved".