COMMUNITY MUST SPEAK OUT ABOUT EDUCATION, SAYS MONKSTOWN HEAD
LOCAL people must "grab the opportunity" to engage in the forthcoming consultation process, which is being held as part of a major review of education in Northern Ireland.
That is the view of Monkstown Community School headmaster, Mr. Dennis Harvey, who highlighted the Department of Education consultation during his address at the school's annual prize distribution.
Said Mr. Harvey: "This will be the first time that such a planned and comprehensive review has taken place in Northern Ireland. We should welcome this opportunity.
"This consultation process will only be effective if the people who live in our community grab this opportunity and respond."
The headmaster commented that there was a "reticence" in the community to speak out about families' wishes for their children.
"We have a tendency to leave it to other people," he remarked. "There is also a tendency to only get involved when it is too late to have your views make a difference."
Mr. Harvey continued: "Schools are the cornerstone of our communities; they are probably the biggest, best equipped facility in most communities."
The headmaster expressed concern that the educational debate was being "orchestrated by a small number of individuals who seem to be able to generate acres of newsprint to express their views."
He said: "There is almost a deafening silence within our communities regarding the positive work which schools like this are involved in. If our schools are valued, then local people must express this view and insist that their opinions are acknowledged.
"This is also an opportunity which our local representatives must grasp and not be led by more detached, well-meaning spokesmen who on any day of the week might find difficulty in locating Newtownabbey on a map."
Mr. Harvey congratulated pupils and staff on recent examination successes, commenting that in his all-ability school, all the young people were equally valued.
"Each child has a unique set of talents, not all of which will be assessed through public examinations," he pointed out.
The headmaster highlighted a range of commendable individual GCSE results and made special mention of 29 pupils who studied journalism for the first time. This resulted in 24 of the students achieving an A-C grade pass.
In ICT, 78% of students scored an A-C grade success and in business and communications systems, the A-C pass level was 80%.
Mr. Harvey described the sixth-form results as "exemplary," with all the young people who sat examinations gaining the grades they needed to progress.
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Weather for Newtownabbey
Wednesday 23 May 2012
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