Statement by Causeway councillor and TUV vice-chairman Allister Kyle:
“As a former pupil I am saddened to see the recent speculation that Dunluce School may be to close on the 31st August 2024
“I feel deeply privileged and thankful for the education I received in Dunluce, a school which often goes unrecognised but one that I can say through the endeavours of its teaching staff goes the extra mile to give help and support to all of its students who wish to avail of it. I did not see myself as academic, better suited to working with my hands than books and computers, yet I believe that had it not have been for the smaller country style school I may have got lost within the large super school idea that is currently being considered. On the other hand, I am very proud of the academic achievements of my sister who received her PhD in Pharmacy from Queen’s University and yet if you look back on her CV you will see that she too was schooled in Dunluce.
“My sister and I are proof that one size can fit all when it comes to the effort and support that the teaching staff put into each and every pupil who enter through their doors.
“With a majority of respondents to an Education Authority consultation on the proposal opposed to it, one has to ask, why have a consultation paper if your going to go ahead and do your own thing anyway?
“Within the recent report much mention is made of the sustainability of Dunluce, Coleraine College and North Coast Integrated, however I have yet to see the case study showing the impact that the closure will have on the town of Bushmills, its inhabitants and the surrounding villages and hamlets.
“People who understand rural towns and villages, realise that the schools are the lifeblood of the community and Bushmills is no different. Within the rural setting, shops and newsagents need the trade from kids buying sweets after school and parents calling in for a message on their way past.
“Tellingly, little has been said of the extra problems for those from more socially deprived areas who will find it harder to make the seventeen mile round trip to Coleraine.
“There are also worries that no proposal has yet been made as to where this ‘super-school’ will be in Coleraine. Will it be an extension/renovation to an already existing school or will it be a new build? Speculation already exists that a new building for the new school is unlikely to be ready for five or even ten years.
“It’s disappointing that pounds and pence seem to being put before educational needs and community life in our part of North Antrim.”
Local MLA Jim Allister added:
“Dunluce itself, through its success for its pupils, has demonstrated that the EA’s philosophy that ‘big is best’ is hopelessly flawed – as flawed as the consultation exercise which it ignored because the responses didn’t suit its agenda.
“As Cllr Kyle has said the losers here are local children, now forced into the integrated sector, and the town of Bushmills through the loss of services. Members of the Education Authority should hang their heads in shame for the blow they have delivered to Bushmills.”