Dickson Plan: Row as board approves merger proposal

The DUP led a protest outside the board offices on Wednesday

A proposal that opponents claim will end grammar schools in part of Armagh has been approved by the Southern Education and Library Board.

The plan would merge three junior high schools and close the senior high.

It would allow older pupils to go to one of two grammar colleges in Portadown and Lurgan.

Opponents may take legal action over the board's recommendation but the board said it "unequivocally" backed the retention of the Dickson Plan.

The Dickson Plan selects pupils for grammar school at 14 instead of 11.

It has allowed children to attend junior high schools for three years, before transferring to grammar schools or senior high schools to complete their compulsory education.

The option rejected by the board was based on a new build for Craigavon Senior High School

It has been in place in post-primary schools in north County Armagh, but does not operate elsewhere in Northern Ireland.

The board has backed Option A, which envisages Clounagh, Killicomaine and Tandragee junior high schools merged into one junior college.

Under this proposal, both Portadown College and Lurgan College would become bi-lateral schools with both grammar and secondary streams.

In a statement, the board said retaining the status quo was "not an option".

It said this was due to Craigavon Senior High School's "projected financial deficit in excess of £1m, the fact that accommodation at the school's Lurgan campus is not fit for purpose and the pressing need for rebuilds of both Portadown College and Lurgan College."

The other option, which the board rejected, was predicated on a new-build for Craigavon Senior High School, instead of the separate campuses in Lurgan and Portadown.

But the board said it remained "wholly unconvinced" that the alternative was "capable of attracting the very significant capital funding needed".

SELB chairperson Plunkett Campbell acknowledged that the board's decision to support Option A had not been unanimous.

The education minister has said the Dickson Plan was "no longer fit for purpose"

"After careful consideration and discussion with the schools involved, the board believes that Option A is the only viable basis for securing the future of the strongly supported Dickson two-tier system by ensuring sustainability," he said.

"Countenancing change is never easy but those schools supportive of Option A, while remaining fully committed to the Dickson Plan, have recognised that there is a serious sustainability issue within the system."

However, opponents have vowed to fight the proposal.

Trevor Robinson, the principal of Lurgan College said he was "disappointed if not surprised" by the SELB's recommendation.

"This is only a proposal and it will be subject to a full public consultation," he said.

Equality Commission

"It will be flatly rejected by the community and the minister's pledge not to impose solutions on communities will be sorely tested."

DUP MLAs Stephen Moutray, Sydney Anderson and William Irwin said they were disgusted at the recommendation.

Speaking following the protest by the DUP at the SELB headquarters, they said they would fight the "shameful decision" of the board.

"As DUP elected representatives for the area we will be looking at every avenue to overturn this decision that ultimately will lead to the desiccation of Dickson if permitted to be implemented," they said in a statement.

"There was a clear, concise message from the people and we must continue to fight for what people want and that is the retention of the Dickson plan as we know and love it."

Ulster Unionist MLA Jo-Anne Dobson said the board's recommendation was "a betrayal of public opinion" and is to refer the matter to the equality commission.

"Many families across this area will be furious and feeling totally let down by the SELB," she said.

"The Dickson Plan retains massive public support and for the SELB to cast aside the views of the public in favour of a politically motivated comprehensive system is a complete betrayal of their views."

The board's proposal, which, it said, was supported by five of the seven schools within the system, will go out to consultation in the autumn. A decision is expected a few months later.