Integrated education: Lagan College backs new bill

Lagan College was the first formally-integrated school in Northern Ireland when it opened in 1981

The principal of Northern Ireland's oldest integrated school has said a Stormont bill would "provide genuine and much needed choice" for parents.

Amanda McNamee backed the proposed Integrated Education Bill in an email to parents of pupils.

The email said Lagan College believes in "parental choice" and meeting the demand for integrated education.

The proposed legislation has been brought forward by Alliance Party assembly member Kellie Armstrong.

The private member's bill would lead to the promotion, reform and expansion of integrated education.

Alliance's Kellie Armstrong proposed the bill

It would increase the number of integrated school places and set targets for the number of children being educated in integrated schools.

However, some Catholic maintained and controlled schools have told parents the bill would "elevate integrated schools above every other type of school".

Education representatives of the four main churches have also been critical of aspects of the proposed legislation.

Education divide

Currently, only about 7% of pupils in Northern Ireland are educated in about 65 formally-integrated schools which aim to mix pupils from Protestant, Catholic and other backgrounds.

Some non-integrated schools also have a mix of pupils from different religious backgrounds and none.

But only 143 out of about 1,000 schools in Northern Ireland have at least 10% of pupils from a Protestant background and 10% from a Catholic background.

Lagan College was the first formally-integrated school in Northern Ireland when it opened with 28 pupils in 1981.

The school now has more than 1,400 pupils on an extensive site in the Castlereagh area of Belfast.

• NI's oldest integrated school marks 40 years

• No religious mix in 'nearly a third of NI schools'

• Integrated education bill worries some schools

In an email to parents, Ms McNamee said she was "incredibly proud" of the school's journey over four decades.

"It has been encouraging to see Kellie Armstrong's Integrated Education Bill being considered by all education sectors in recent weeks and provoking such interesting debate," she wrote.

Amanda McNamee said the bill would not damage other schools

"If the bill is passed it will give legal recognition to integrated education as was the case with the Shared Education Bill which was supported by all political parties in March 2016.

"Lagan College supports the Integrated Education Bill because if passed it will provide genuine and much needed choice to all those families who want their child or children to receive an integrated education at nursery, primary or post-primary level in our shared society."

Ms McNamee said the bill would not "damage and limit other schools".

Ms Armstrong's bill is currently passing through consideration stages at Stormont.

The bill has divided political parties with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) opposed to the proposed legislation, although most other parties at Stormont have previously signalled support.

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson recently told the News Letter newspaper that the party would raise a petition of concern in opposition to Ms Armstrong's proposal.

Any vote in the assembly can be made dependent on a petition of concern if it is supported by 30 assembly members - meaning the motion will only pass if it has cross-community support.

But the DUP would need support from other assembly members to block the bill.