Limavady shared education campus officially opened

Cutting the sod - First and Deputy First Ministers, Michelle O'Neill and Emma Little-Pengelly do the honours at Limavady shared campus

A shared education campus in Limavady, County Londonderry, has been officially opened by First and Deputy First Ministers, Michelle O'Neill and Emma Little-Pengelly.

The £11m campus has welcomed pupils from Limavady High School and St Mary's High School since September 2023.

Both schools are on Irish Green Street and are separated by a single footpath.

Although remaining separate schools, the campus sees pupils from both schools share some classes.

Pupils from the two schools have been coming together for some classes and extra-curricular activities since the 1970s.

Limavady High had previously offered subjects such as drama and learning for life and work to pupils from St Mary's High.

In return, pupils from Limavady High went to St Mary's High to study some technology-based subjects.

The project for the two adjacent schools to be joined in a shared, state-of-the-art campus was approved by the Department of Education in 2014.

The facilities include a new high-tech media-studies suite and performance spaces, as well as a new study and common rooms.

Plans for shared campuses were initially part of the Northern Ireland Executive's Together: Building a United Community (TBUC) strategy.

Principal of Limavady High School, Darren Mornin, and Principal of St Mary's Limavady, Rita Moore, have both helped bring the shared campus to fruition

They would allow pupils from different backgrounds in separate schools to come together to share classes and new buildings.

Shared education involves pupils from separate schools and different backgrounds engaging in some joint classes and activities.

Teachers and school governors from different schools can also work together.

It differs from integrated education where pupils from Catholic, Protestant and other backgrounds are educated together in the same school.

The campus in County Londonderry was visited by former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in April 2023.

During her visit to the schools, Mrs Clinton unveiled two benches to commemorate the new campus and met pupils from both schools.

The campus in County Londonderry was visited by former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in April 2023

Mrs Clinton, who is also Chancellor of Queen's University Belfast, awarded honorary degrees to the principals of St Mary's High School and Limavady High School for their shared education initiative.

She praised the work of Darren Mornin (Limavady High) and Rita Moore (St Mary's), and said the shared education campus "helps build a bulwark against sectarianism and divisiveness".