THE Collegiate Grammar School’s consultation meeting on its proposed amalgamation with Portora Royal exposed the Western Education Library Board’s (WELB) “weak process and weak argument”, according to principal, Elizabeth Armstrong.

Last Wednesday parents had the opportunity to pose their questions to WELB officals over the future of their children’s education in Fermanagh.

The heated meeting lasted until 2.30am on Thursday.

WELB representatives were tasked with putting forward their case for the proposed amalgamation.

But according to Miss Armstrong, their argument did not stand up to the scrutiny of the parents present.

“The WELB officials could not come up with the answers to the parents’ questions,” she told the Impartial Reporter this week, “That, to me, indicates a weak process and a weak argument.” Well over 200 parents filled the school’s assembly hall.

The meeting, due to begin at 8pm, was delayed because discussions between the WELB officials and teachers at the school, beginning at 4pm that day, were still running four hours later.

WELB officials were criticised for the “unprofessional” manner in which they spoke to Miss Armstrong on a number of occasions throughout the night.

“It was a robust meeting,” Miss Armstrong conceded, “I wouldn’t want to dwell on that aspect. Some of the parents were quite taken aback that the school was being challenged in the manner that it was. They very quickly rebutted the challenges. I don’t want to dwell on that though, because it’s where we have been for the last number of years.

“I don’t take it as a personal thing -- I am the face of the school.

“What struck me most of all was how the parents continually challenged what they were hearing at the meeting, and challenged them successfully -- their argument was not just emotional -- it was logical too.

“It left everyone wondering how have we got to a situation where there are so many unanswered questions and yet the Board seems determined to push on with this?” Throughout the meeting parents challenged the material in the presentations delivered by the Board officers.

They told the WELB representatives to send a clear and unambiguous message back to the WELB that the proposal was not welcomed.

“They queried too, why the Chief Executive of the WELB was not present at such an important meeting and they requested that the Chairman and the members of the full WELB would make themselves available for a meeting in the Collegiate to listen to their objections as parents to the proposal,” said Miss Armstrong.

WELB representatives were asked to provide details of meetings between the WELB officers and/or WELB members and the Fermanagh Protestant Board of Education.

“Serious displeasure was expressed that these meetings had taken place without the knowledge of the Collegiate Board of Governors and that this proposal to close the Collegiate, to close Portora and to establish a new voluntary grammar school under the trusteeship of the Fermanagh Protestant Board of Education was put forward in full knowledge of the consistently expressed opposition of the Board of Governors of the Collegiate,” the principal explained.

Parents raised concerns about accountability and transparency in the process too.

“They signalled concern as to whether due account would be taken of results of this consultation, given the manner in which the outcome of previous consultations appear to have been ignored,” said Miss Armstrong.

According to the principal, many of the parents expressed a “complete lack of confidence” in the WELB’s capacity to deliver for the community because of the situation faced by Devenish College.

“Speakers spoke of the serious erosion of community confidence by the closure of Lisnaskea High School despite parental and community opposition,” Miss Armstrong added.

The issue of split sites was also raised at the meeting.

“The WELB officials made it very clear that they could not guarantee when and indeed if funding for a new build would be forthcoming from the Department of Education,” said the principal, “The WELB officials accepted that the amalgamation of two schools brings significant challenges for staff and pupils such as co-ordination of examination board syllabuses and transport of pupils and staff: They accepted too that the split site arrangement is not a cheap one. Other parents expressed the view that an acceptance of this proposal which will mean split sites for the foreseeable future would create significant practical problems and require substantial financial investment in the infrastructure of our island town.” According to Miss Armstrong, concern was also expressed that the proposed school would be financially vulnerable as the overall reduction of numbers in the school would see a commensurate reduction in finance per pupil with the fixed costs of the split sites remaining the same or even possibly increasing. “If in addition to this, parents lost confidence in a school on split sites and voted with their feet, lower intakes would lead to further critical haemorrhaging of crucial funding,” she warned.

WELB officers argued that a bigger school would be more sustainable.

“Several parents were quick to point out that the Collegiate had largely been able to remain within budget due to careful husbandry and to very stable numbers despite significant reduction in funding due to the severe cuts in the amount of funding per pupil,” said Miss Armstrong.

Frustration was expressed by many parents that the cap placed on the Collegiate’s admissions number meant that the school could not grow in numbers and financial sustainability, even though it is heavily oversubscribed.

And several members of the audience expressed disappointment at the way in which statistics were presented by WELB officials on the night. One member of the audience suggested a three school model with 600 pupils each would accommodate the projected pupil figures in Fermanagh by 2025. They suggested this would allow both the Collegiate and Portora to grow and allow Devenish as a strong vocational option to reach viable numbers.

“There appears to be growing calls from the community that this would be a better approach than the current proposals and one which should be explored by the WELB,” Miss Armstrong reflected.

In a show of hands of those who were opposed to the amalgamation, the response was overwhelmingly in support of the Collegiate’s consistent opposition to the proposal. “The Collegiate’s perseverance in taking the lead in questioning and challenging the area plan and the policies underpinning it flowed not from a resistance to change but rather indicated the Governors’ determination to pursue their vision for a truly inclusive and strategic way forward,” Miss Armstrong told this newspaper.

“This would build our community’s educational future on proven strengths, which allows for the building of a new school for Devenish College, carefully planned investment at both grammar schools and continuing collaboration with all schools within and between sectors.” Miss Armstrong said the Collegiate did not have an “anti-Portora agenda”.

“It is a matter of concern for us that this proposal has had the effect of putting parents in a position of choosing one way or the other when all we have wanted is to keep all our good schools and build upon their proven strengths.” “Closing the Collegiate would shut down many positive possibilities and seriously undermine community confidence across the board,” she warned.