Concerns over merger of city secondary schools

Concerns have been raised about the proposed amalgamation of two city secondary schools.

And a call has now been made for proper consultation with parents before any final decision is taken on the site of a new school which will amalgamate the Mercy Secondary School in Newtownsmyth and the Presentation Seconday School on Presentation Road.

There is general consensus that the two all girls schools which have seen a fall in student numbers should merge into one new school which will cater for 500 pupils.

However, concerns were raised this week on how a consultant’s decision in 2009 that the Mercy be the site of the merger change making the Presentation the now preferred site.

Deputy Noel Grealish called this week for a new and independent review of the amalgamation of the two schools, which are both under the patronage of CEIST, the Catholic Education, An Irish Schools Trust, which employed the consultancy firm that came up with two different conclusions within a five year period.

Deputy Grealish said he wanted to ensure that the best site was chosen but that substantial investment had been given by the Department of Education to fund major refurbishment works at the Mercy school with a view of amalgamating with the Presentation.

He said the latest findings were based on which site involved the least amount of alteration and investment to facilitate curricular activities and it was decided by CEIST to work on the Presentation site pending land given by the Presentation sisters and planning permission.

But in 2009 when the same surveyors carried out a similar review, it was deemed that the Mercy site was the most suitable and since that time the school had undergone extensive refurbishment and upgrading.

For more on this story, see this week’s Galway City Tribune