Tyrone town 'shocked' school can't expand, Dean Maguirc principal says

Pupils from Dean Maguirc College holding a letter sent by the school to parents about the decision to refuse an expansion of pupil numbers at the school

People in a County Tyrone town are "completely shocked" that its local school will not be allowed to increase its pupil numbers.

That is according to James Warnock, the principal of Dean Maguirc College.

The school, in Carrickmore, was told by the Department of Education (DE) that raising pupil numbers "may have a detrimental impact on the Strule Shared Education Campus" in Omagh.

Mr Warnock said locals "can't believe that was put in there".

In a statement, a department spokesperson said they understood "the disappointment of everyone associated with Dean Maguirc College and the wider community".

The landmark Strule campus is the biggest school building project ever planned in Northern Ireland.

It will involve more than 4,000 pupils being taught in six schools with some shared facilities.

It was originally due to open in 2020, but the project has been beset by delays and uncertainty over funding.

But Strule was cited as one reason to turn down Dean Maguirc's plans to increase enrolment, in a letter from the Department of Education to Mr Warnock.

Mr Warnock said parents, the Board of Governors and the wider community were "completely shocked" by that.

"We never anticipated that as a reason," he told BBC News NI.

Why was the school refused expansion?

As part of a process called normalisation, the department asked schools to apply for an increase in the number of pupils they were allowed to admit.

It was decided that 21 schools could increase their approved pupil numbers, but Dean Maguirc College was not one of them.

The school is a post-primary and is currently allowed to admit 80 new pupils a year but wanted to admit 100 a year and increase its overall numbers.

"We've been trying to get that increased for a while now," Mr Warnock said.

"We have a very high number of applications for Year 8 over the past number of years.

"These numbers are out of date, they're actually obsolete.

"The local people have come together and they realise our numbers are growing."

But the school received a letter from the department that said the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools (CCMS) had objected to the school's plan due to "concerns about accommodation".

The letter also said there were other schools in the area that could take additional pupils, and that there would be a "projected decline and downturn in the school population in the years ahead".

The letter continued: "Normalisation of Dean Maguirc College may have a detrimental impact on the development of Strule Shared Education Campus - a significant major capital development programme."

Carrickmore, however, is about 11 miles from Omagh.

The school has now written to parents telling them that CCMS did not support an increase in pupil numbers, "stating that one of the reasons being, the availability of places in another school, eleven miles away".

'Can't answer the questions'

Mr Warnock said parents now want public meetings to be held where they could question a CCMS representative.

"The parents, when I told them about this I got an awful lot of phone calls," he said.

"Parents want to have a public meeting, not just one public meeting but in three areas.

"I can't answer the questions as to why we're not being recognised."

In a statement to BBC News NI, CCMS said "the normalisation pilot and associated decisions were a Department of Education initiative".

"CCMS was asked to provide data to assist the department's considerations.

"We provided factual information only and did not express an opinion on the potential normalisation of Dean Maguirc College.

"We understand the decision is disappointing for the college and we are engaging with the school and departmental officials on this matter."

A spokesperson for the Department of Education said: "The department understands the disappointment of everyone associated with Dean Maguirc College and the wider community.

"However, it was decided the most appropriate pathway for the school's approved numbers to be increased was through the Development Proposal process."