Portora Board: split site will allow for planning

Whilst acknowledging that the split site scenario is “not ideal” members of the Board of Governors say they believe it has “some mitigating advantages”.

And in a statement released to the Impartial Reporter the Board has responded to criticism that the presence of church representatives on the Board of Governors for the new school would have a negative impact.

The statement also sheds new light on the Fermanagh Protestant Board for Education (FPBE), a constituent part of the Board of Governors of Portora, which has been selected as the ‘trustees’ of the amalgamated school.

Up until now, very little has been known about the FPBE.

“We were rather saddened to read that it has been implied in a meeting with the Minister of Education [a meeting between Collegiate representatives and John O’Dowd earlier this year] that the presence of church representatives on the Board of Governors might have, or be perceived as having, a detrimental impact by narrowing the vision of the school,” said the Board of Governors.

“In fact the Churches nominate members to the vast majority of Boards of Governors of primary and post-primary schools and their presence is usually welcomed and valued. Far from being a narrowing factor we would hope that they would help maintain a spirit of liberality and openness. Very often they are clergy, although, out of a total of 11 members on the FPBE, only two are clergy, and one of those is ex-officio.

“Regardless of their presence, it cannot alter the fact that the schools they serve are non-denominational Voluntary or Controlled schools who will accept applications from, and nurture to the best of their ability, all young people of any faith and none. At present both Portora and the Collegiate Grammar are non-denominational schools and their school communities are representative of such. As far as the school community is concerned those from different religious backgrounds and none are simply another friend and colleague regardless of their religious affiliations. The new amalgamated school will also be a Non-Denominational Voluntary Grammar School.” Members of the Board said the believed the split site arrangement would prevent students from being “simply thrown together on day one”. “That will be particularly important for those in classes preparing for public examinations. It will also mean that, although the name on the notice board outside each school may change, young people will continue to be educated in both buildings for a number of years,” they said.

In their statement the Board of Governors said much emphasis had been placed on the closing of the two schools, but relatively little on the opening of a new one.

“Yet that is what is planned to happen and it will be the responsibility of the Interim Board of Governors in the first instance to ensure that all that is best in both Portora and the Collegiate are incorporated into the ethos and practice of the new school. The quality of leadership and how the venture is moved forward will be crucial to the success of the new school.

“As a Board of Governors we are as aware as those who oppose the amalgamation that the process by which these matters are deliberated upon and decided is far from perfect, and in fact can be divisive and damaging. However we did not design the process but simply had to engage with it like all other schools have to do in such situations.

“However we hope that in the not too distant future a focus of unity can be found in combining all our efforts to preparing an Economic Appraisal which will make an unassailable case for substantial capital investment in a new build. We were delighted to hear the good news of the Department of Education’s commitment of twenty-three million pounds for a new school for Devenish College. It will be quite a challenge for the Devenish Board of Governors to go through the complex procurement process which will be required to make that happen in the two years allowed, and we wish them well in rising to the challenge,” they added.

It is explained in the statement that the FPBE is made up of people chosen through the representative processes of the three traditional churches (Methodist, Presbyterian and Church of Ireland).

The FPBE is reconstituted each year at it annual meeting. The legislation which established the FPBE did not include any time limit on the number of terms a member can serve.

“Presumably the Churches nominate those whom they feel would best serve the interests of the Board and there has been a good deal of turnover in terms of membership on the FPBE in recent years,” said the statement, “There is considerable advantage in having relatively new members sitting alongside longstanding members to ensure both continuity and freshness. The average period of service of the current FPBE members is approximately eight years, some having served more and others having served less. There is provision for three co-opted members. One co-opted position is currently vacant.” Members of Portora’s Board of Governors “play exactly the same role as any other member”,” it was explained.

“The FPBE has a specific role in relation to land, property and some investments, but issues relating to these matters are discussed with the whole Board of Governors and consensus reached.

“As with all Boards of Governors we welcome the contribution which parent, teacher, Department, and Church nominees make to our deliberations. Also like all Boards we have been going through tough financial times recently and it has only been with great care and hard work that we have been able to operate at a modest surplus on our LMS funding. Funds as will be available in the future are much more likely to be for capital projects that create sustainable schools and are viewed by the Department of Education as investments for the long term.

“As with the other Ulster Royal Schools the FPBE was established in 1891 to act as the Trustee body for the Royal School Endowment for Fermanagh which includes the buildings, land and the non-LMS financial assets of Portora. The principal responsibility of the FPBE is to ensure that the assets held in trust, not least the 60 acres on Portora Hill, are used for the purposes laid down by the Scheme in 1891 (i.e. education) and are still in force today. It is for that reason that the FPBE is named as the group under whose trusteeship any new school would be established. That does not mean that the FPBE can exercise control of a new school. Its principal power is to prevent any use of the land and assets held in trust from being applied to purposes other than those of 1891 Scheme.

“At the time of its foundation the FPBE constituted the entire Board of Governors of Portora and indeed of other post-primary schools in the sector. For instance in 1916 the FPBE established the Enniskillen Royal School for Girls which in time became the Collegiate Grammar School. However in the course of the 20th century Portora, with other Voluntary Schools, was brought under the provisions of a number of Education Acts which expanded the membership of school Boards of Governors (e.g. to include parent, teacher and Department of Education representatives) and required the FPBE to become a minority on the Board of Governors. This, it is happy to be and to remain.

“The members of FPBE continue to sit as a minority on the Board of Governors of Portora. Although they are nominated by their Churches, when they take their places on the Board of Governors (as on the Board of any public body) they sit as individuals, trusted by those who appointed them to exercise their own judgement in all matters and in no way expected to conform to any particular line on any particular issue, big or small. It would be improper for them to take instructions from any outside body or for an outside organisation (be it a church, a political party or a pressure group) to try to instruct them as to how they should act when sitting as a member of the Board.

“The Board of Governors of Portora, including those who are also members of the FPBE, wish to make it absolutely clear that we are unequivocally committed to fair representation between Portora and the Collegiate on both the Interim Board of Governors and the constituted Board of Governors of the new school. It is our conviction that such an arrangement would be the only way to ensure that the best of both schools can be incorporated into any new body. In any potential future arrangement the FPBE would always form a minority on any governance,” the statement added.

“We are very aware that the Minister’s decision to approve the amalgamation has been a cause of real anguish to some people which is why we issued only the very briefest of statements last week when the announcement was made. We have always understood that they are people of conviction and integrity who have the good of present and future generations of our young people at heart. We trust that they likewise understand that we have supported the amalgamation also as people of conviction and integrity who equally value our young people and whose burning desire is to make a new school flourish.” For more updates, photographs and debate follow The Impartial Reporter on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/impartialreporter And on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/impartialrep