Connacht Tribune
Over-subscribed new school forced to turn students away
It is not so long ago that the Board of Management at the new secondary school in Claregalway were canvassing the local primary schools and encouraging them to send their pupils to the new facility.
Such is the success of Colaiste Bhaile Chlair that they have now reached saturation point, leaving them with no choice but to implement an acceptance criteria and turning pupils away.
And this has resulted in some students in the area having to opt for other secondary schools with no guarantee of bus transport from the Department of Education. It has left some families with a major headache.
It has now resulted in calls for another secondary school to be established in the area with a suggestion that it be located in Corrandulla so that it can accommodate students from the wider Annaghdown area.
According to local Cllr James Charity it has emerged that as many as 29 sixth class pupils within the catchment area for Colaiste Bhaile Chlair have been refused entry for the coming September as the school is over subscribed.
“This is the fourth year in a row that the problem has arisen and has led to calls to examine the establishment of a secondary school in Corrandulla,” the independent councilor has said.
Cllr Charity said a number of students refused entry to Colaiste Bhaile Chlair will have appeals heard by the school’s Board of Management.
They have been told that once there have been in excess of 180 applications from the school’s catchment area, it applies a distance criteria in its admissions policy which means children furthest away from the school, despite being in the catchment, are the ones who lose out.
“Invariably, this means students from areas like Annaghdown, Corrandulla, Corbally and Corofin are those affected every year and who are now left in limbo again.
“To make matters worse, if they now choose to attend another post primary school which is in fact further away, they have no automatic entitlement to school bus transport from the Department. As a result, families and students from these areas are being doubly penalised.
“Parents of children in the locality feel justifiably aggrieved because when the development of Colaiste Bhaile Chlair was bring mooted, both they and the local primary schools in the area were approached to support the development based on the fact it would benefit their children.
“Now they are being told that they can’t access the school because of where they live. I think it is now well past time that consideration is seriously given to providing a secondary school in Corrandulla.
“It is well known that the Department are looking at locations in the county for an Educate Together Secondary School and I would urge them to look into Corrandulla,” Cllr Charity added.
He said that with four local primary schools, one of which is one of the largest in County Galway, the geographical proximity of the area to the Educate Together primary school in Claregalway, and the large growing population of the hinterland, the time is now right to provide a new secondary school in the area.
Significant state investment is required to address ‘shocking’ inequalities that leave cancer patients in the West at greater risk of succumbing to the disease.
A meeting of Regional Health Forum West heard that survival rates for breast, lung and colorectal cancers than the national average, and with the most deprived quintile of the population, the West’s residents faced poorer outcomes from a cancer diagnosis.
For breast cancer patients, the five-year survival rate was 80% in the West versus 85% nationally; for lung cancer patients it was 16.7% in the west against a 19.5% national survival rate; and in the West’s colorectal cancer patients, there was a 62.6% survival rate where the national average was 63.1%.
These startling statistics were provided in answer to a question from Ballinasloe-based Cllr Evelyn Parsons (Ind) who said it was yet another reminder that cancer treatment infrastructure in the West was in dire need of improvement.
“The situation is pretty stark. In the Western Regional Health Forum area, we have the highest incidence of deprivation and the highest health inequalities because of that – we have the highest incidences of cancer nationally because of that,” said Cllr Parsons, who is also a general practitioner.
In details provided by CEO of Saolta Health Care Group, which operates Galway’s hospitals, it was stated that a number of factors were impacting on patient outcomes.
Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.
Galway 3-18
Cork 1-10
NEW setting; new opposition; new challenge. It made no difference to the Galway minor hurlers as they chalked up a remarkable sixth consecutive double digits championship victory at Semple Stadium on Saturday.
The final scoreline in Thurles may have been a little harsh on Cork, but there was no doubting Galway’s overall superiority in setting up only a second-ever All-Ireland showdown against Clare at the same venue on Sunday week.
Having claimed an historic Leinster title the previous weekend, Galway took a while to get going against the Rebels and also endured their first period in a match in which they were heavily outscored, but still the boys in maroon roll on.
Beating a decent Cork outfit by 14 points sums up how formidable Galway are. No team has managed to lay a glove on them so far, and though Clare might ask them questions other challengers haven’t, they are going to have to find significant improvement on their semi-final win over 14-man Kilkenny to pull off a final upset.
Galway just aren’t winning their matches; they are overpowering the teams which have stood in their way. Their level of consistency is admirable for young players starting off on the inter-county journey, while the team’s temperament appears to be bombproof, no matter what is thrown at them.
Having romped through Leinster, Galway should have been a bit rattled by being only level (0-4 each) after 20 minutes and being a little fortunate not to have been behind; or when Cork stormed out of the blocks at the start of the second half by hitting 1-4 to just a solitary point in reply, but there was never any trace of panic in their ranks.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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GARDAÍ and the IFA have issued a joint appeal to all road users to take extra care as the silage season gets under way across the country.
Silage harvesting started in many parts of Galway last week – and over the coming month, the sight of tractors and trailers on rural roads will be getting far more frequent.
Inspector Conor Madden, who is in charge of Galway Roads Policing, told the Farming Tribune that a bit of extra care and common-sense from all road users would go a long way towards preventing serious collisions on roads this summer.
“One thing I would ask farmers and contractors to consider is to try and get more experienced drivers working for them.
“Tractors have got faster and bigger – and they are also towing heavy loads of silage – so care and experience are a great help in terms of accident prevention,” Inspector Madden told the Farming Tribune.
He said that tractor drivers should always be aware of traffic building up behind them and to pull in and let these vehicles pass, where it was safe to do so.
“By the same token, other road users should always exercise extra care; drive that bit slower; and ‘pull in’ that bit more, when meeting tractors and heavy machinery.
“We all want to see everyone enjoying a safe summer on our roads – that extra bit of care, and consideration for other roads users can make a huge difference,” said Conor Madden.
He also advised motorists and tractor drivers to be acutely aware of pedestrians and cyclists on the roads during the summer season when more people would be out walking and cycling on the roads.
The IFA has also joined in on the road safety appeal with Galway IFA Farm Family and Social Affairs Chair Teresa Roche asking all road users to exercise that extra bit of care and caution.
“We are renewing our annual appeal for motorists to be on the look out for tractors, trailers and other agricultural machinery exiting from fields and farmyards,” she said.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
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Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
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The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Families queue up for school’s offer of free house
West has lower cancer survival rates than rest
Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents
Gardaí and IFA issue a joint appeal on summer road safety
Marathon Man plans to call a halt – but not before he hits 160 races
