by Marie Claire Noble

September 2019 is a very special month for all of us associated, past and present, with the Erne Integrated College. It marks 25 years since it opened its doors to 60 pupils in the old Silverhill House on the outskirts of Enniskillen. I was one of those pupils who gathered under the watchful gaze of our seven founding teachers and the huge media interest in its establishment, which coincided with the IRA ceasefire announcement on the 31st August 1994.

It is therefore a great source of pride and satisfaction to many in Fermanagh and beyond that over those years the school has gone from strength to strength, moved to new and expanded premises and has produced many hundreds of stories of academic excellence, sporting success, cultural, artistic and musical achievement.

For our family, we were also privileged and proud to have a ringside seat as our dad, Tom Noble was the founding Principal, where he remained up until his retirement in 2011.

As far back as 1989, Enniskillen Integrated Primary school opened its doors, the first school of its kind in Co Fermanagh. As he campaigned for its opening, Daddy displayed an energy and a drive and an excitement that our community was on the cusp of something very special. So, when a similar group of parents later developed plans for the establishment of a second level school, he applied for the position of Principal. He accepted that job along with the seven founding teachers, even before the government had fully sanctioned the opening of the school. Such was their level of commitment to the integrated education movement. The formation of a new integrated school wasn’t without its detractors, its sceptics, its begrudgers. It never is. Change can be difficult and all of those associated with the school were keen to ensure that Fermanagh had the choice available for families who wished for their young people to be educated together.

We remember well the unbelievable amount of planning, research, passion and drive that marked the establishment of Erne Integrated College. Our kitchen table became an unofficial focus group discussing school names, mottos, uniform colours and subject choices. At times it was scary, it was stressful, it was tiring. But it always felt right and 25 years on it was absolutely worth the huge efforts devoted by so many.

Bit by bit, step by step, year by year, Erne Integrated College grew and developed at a rate and a pace that was unimaginable, even for Daddy. He spent countless hours debating and discussing his vision and his ethos. This was a community based, community led educational revolution. Tom Noble wanted what was considered unnatural to become the norm – children being educated together irrespective of gender, religious or political or ethnic background or level of academic achievement. He wanted to achieve this without compromising on ensuring the highest standards of educational, social, cultural and sporting opportunities. He wanted the best teachers, the best governors, the best parent’s council, the best students council. He truly revelled in and excelled in being at the centre of it all. Integration and the concept of a truly shared society was about making children and communities able to express themselves freely. Integration wasn’t about some forced, artificial social experiment. It had to be real, natural, child centered and based on the development of the young person. It wasn’t to be forced or shoved down other’s throats.

The success of the integrated education movement extends much wider than Fermanagh. There are many integrated schools at all levels across Northern Ireland and many more to come. The Good Friday Agreement places an obligation on decision makers to ‘encourage and facilitate’ integrated education. The representative bodies have been jointly nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 2019. These are all wonderful and worthy advances and recognitions. The great and lasting achievements are however the small everyday things. Being a pupil alongside others with a different political background, gaining a greater insight into their hopes and fears for the future and being able to hold those views and be respected for them is what will slowly transform this society as a whole.

In the continuing absence of grown up government, growing up as a child in an integrated setting and other community based initiatives which promotes and enhances opportunities for all young people has never been more important.

I know our dad was hugely proud of the Erne Integrated College. He was beyond honoured to serve as its first Principal and we are certainly proud of the role he played in its formation and development. A quarter of a century on, we look forward to many years of continued success.

Marie Claire Noble is the daughter of the founding principal of the Erne Integrated College, Tom Noble, and was a first year pupil of the school when it opened in September 1994.