Legal challenges are being brought against the Department of Education (DE) following decisions made by Paul Givan to reject proposals from two schools in north Down to transition to integrated status.
Givan, the education minister, opted not to proceed with plans by Bangor Academy and Rathmore Primary School to become integrated. Pre-action letters have been sent to the department indicating legal challenges to the minister’s decisions in both instances.
The process by which a school transitions to integration is known as transformation. This involves a parental vote to determine if a majority are in favor of the change. Bangor Academy, with nearly 1,900 students, is the largest school in Northern Ireland. Approximately 80% of parents and guardians who participated in the ballot at Bangor Academy endorsed the shift to integrated status. Similarly, Rathmore Primary School received around 82% support from voting parents for their integration plans.
Despite recommendations from officials at DE for both schools to transform to integrated status, Givan decided to reject the proposals. He justified his stance by stating that there was insufficient evidence to suggest a significant presence of Catholic pupils at each school to provide integrated education, as mandated by Stormont legislation. This decision has been met with criticism and is now the subject of legal challenges
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