By 
A CAMPAIGN has been launched to save one of Tyrone’s smallest Catholic schools – St Joseph’s PS in Caledon – after it was earmarked for closure.
The Council for Catholic Maintained Schools (CCMS) has brought forward a development proposal, which is supported by the Education Authority, for closing St Joseph’s at the end of the summer term next year, 2027. A final decision will be taken by Education Minister, Paul Givan.
The proposal suggested that the school, which has a current enrolment of 28, does not have a ‘sufficient demand’ for a CCMS school in the village.
However, local people fear that the move would remove Catholic education provision from the area altogether, and that this would have a negative impact on religious freedom and cultural expression. The school, which has been in existence for decades, once had strong links to the Civil Rights movement.
Parents, staff and local political representatives are urging the local community to object to the development proposal during a newly-opened consultation process.
The chair of the Board of Governors at St Joseph’s, Jim Lennon, said people in the area were ‘deeply-concerned’ and explained that one of the key issues was that the proposal would remove the right to parental choice for dozens of local families.
“This proposal removes from parents in Caledon the right to choose where their children attend school,” Mr Lennon said.
“In recent years, major work has been ongoing to regenerate Caledon village.
“But if you take away education – one of the key infrastructures that any small village – it will lead to people leaving the area if they cannot access education for their children.
“It will then become an area mainly inhabited by the elderly.
“The other key issues from our viewpoint is that it’s not clear where the children currently attending St Joseph’s would be expected to go, should the school close. The nearest school outside the parish is St John’s Middletown, while the only other school is St Mary’s, Aughnacloy, which is more than seven miles away.
“The Education Authority’s budget is very constrained in terms of travel.
“In our discussions with the CCMS, there are no guarantees that there will be support for children moving to Aughnacloy. The local community links with the parish of Aghaloo and Carnteel will be lost.”
Fermanagh and South Tyrone Sinn Fein MLA, Colm Gildernew, said the school is ‘on the pheripery’ of the parish of Aghaloo and Carnteel and even the North, due to its proximinity with the border.
“It is in a very unique factor in the school’s ability to attract numbers, and is a product of its geography. In what is already a marginalised situation, closing St Joseph’s would make that worse,” he said.
“No-one in the Caledon area really wants to see a situation where only one identity is recognised and nurtured.
“People moving to the area into planned new housing will want access to Catholic education for their children. But if that is not available, they may choose not to locate to the village.
“It is very clear to me that across all parties there is a determination to protect the natture of the village and ensure that it does not become one with only a single identity.”
Mr Gildernew said that the community involvement, educational outcomes and the leadership provided at the school all also needed to be taken into account. He called for people to make their voices heard ‘loud and clear’.
