School does enrolment U-turn after 20 appeals
January 11, 2013
A Cork all-Irish school has reversed its decision not to enrol a third first-year class next September after more than 20 appeals were made to the Department of Education.
Gaelcholáiste Mhuire in the North Monastery — the city’s only northside all-Irish secondary school — was accused of changing the goalposts when about 50 of the 110-plus applicants to start there later this year were refused enrolment before Christmas.
While management were keen to accommodate three classes, the Edmund Rice Schools Trust which owns the school wanted to restrict numbers to avoid putting strain on the school’s facilities. The trustees want any expansion to be managed properly so that the necessary building works would be carried out to meet any rising demand for the school, which is under the same ownership as the adjoining North Monastery Secondary School.
But public representatives and parents claimed they were led to understand when applying last autumn that there would be three first-year classes, the same as in three of the last four years.
After a series of meetings over the last month between the board, parents, and the trustees, a decision has now been made to admit the third class.
It means good news for 28 boys and girls who had been refused a place, most of whom are understood to have lodged appeals to the Department of Education.
The chair of the school’s board of management, Paul Moynihan, said it had been working with the trustees to resolve a number of issues.
“The trustees held a number of concerns as regards the capacity of the school to accommodate the numbers that were being proposed for the 2013/14 academic year. Until these concerns were satisfied the trustees were unwilling to approve increased numbers,” he said.
“The necessary assurances have now been given by school management to the trustees that has enabled them to give their approval to the admission of increased numbers.” Local councillor Tom Gould said the development was good news.
“I think common sense has prevailed, it’s the right decision for the children. It’s a fabulous school with a great reputation and that is why places are so sought after and hopefully work can be done over the next year to ensure we won’t be facing the same situation again.”
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