Groarty Integrated Primary School to shut
Groarty Integrated Primary School will close at the end of August 2021.
Education minister Peter Weir said falling pupil numbers means the school is no longer sustainable.
The school, which opened in 1856, became an integrated primary in 2006, is the only one of its type in Derry’s cityside.
“Having weighed up all the information, including the fact that 7 of the 17 pupils will be exiting P7, with no new intake for 2019-20 or September 2020, it is clear that unfortunately the school is not sustainable and that provision for any pupils in an integrated setting can be made elsewhere in the city,” Mr Weir said.
The school was earmarked for closure last year following a recommendation by the Education Authority (EA).
The NI Council for Integrated Education (NICE) described the decision as “disappointing”.
Lorna McAlpine of NICE said the decision may be “short-sighted “given there is a major housing development planned for the area.
“There is provision for a school within that and we had talked a number of times about the possibility about trying to get a survey together to see what type of school people would have wanted in that area,” she said.
In 2017, the school applied to become a shared bilingual campus along with nearby Irish language school Gaelscoil Na Daróige.
Their application was turned down by the EA.
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