Craigavon Senior High: Second attempt to close Lurgan campus of school

Since opening in 1995, Craigavon Senior High School has operated on a 'split site' on two separate campuses five miles apart

The Education Authority (EA) is to make a second attempt to close the Lurgan campus of Craigavon Senior High School.

The 600-pupil school currently operates on a split site with one campus in Lurgan and a larger one in Portadown.

The EA has published a development proposal for the school to remain open on the Portadown campus alone from September 2022.

That is despite a majority of respondents to two separate consultations opposing the EA's plan.

A number of controlled schools in the Craigavon area operate under the Dickson plan.

Pupils attend an all-ability junior high school then transfer at age 14 to Craigavon Senior High School (CSHS), which is non-selective, or one of two local grammar schools - Lurgan College and Portadown College.

In 2016, the EA identified a number of security and health and safety issues for pupils and staff at the Lurgan campus of CSHS.

The authority subsequently made an attempt to close the Lurgan site in 2019, but that faced a legal challenge.

However, a subsequent judicial review found in the EA's favour and it is now proposing to close the Lurgan campus from September 2022.

All pupils would now attend the Portadown campus of the school

But in two separate consultations a majority of respondents have opposed the closure.

The most recent one was carried out from December 2020 to February 2021.

Ninety of those who responded - 65 of whom were parents - opposed the plan to close the Lurgan campus.

They said, for example, that there needed to be a non-selective school in Lurgan for Lurgan children, and that children from Protestant and unionist backgrounds in the town would be particularly disadvantaged if the campus closed.

• Lurgan campus of school to be closed

• Lurgan campus to close despite objections

Exam results 'improved substantially'

The UUP assembly member (MLA) Doug Beattie and the DUP MP Carla Lockhart have also previously spoken out against the closure of the Lurgan campus.

But 48 people supported the plans to move all pupils to Portadown, saying it was the only viable option to sustain the Dickson Plan.

The EA also said exam results had improved substantially at CSHS in recent years.

However, the majority of subjects and courses in the school are available on the larger Portadown campus.

The EA said it would seek "major capital investment" to build a new Craigavon Senior High School at some point in the future, but that would be dependent on funding and Department of Education approval.

Now that the EA's formal proposal has been published, people have a further chance to support or object to the plans.

Education Minister Peter Weir will ultimately decide whether the Lurgan campus of CSHS will close.