New Educate Together school for Trim
A new Educate Together school is to due open in Trim in September, the Department of Education has confirmed.
The new multi-denominational school will be located in temporary accommodation.
The news has been welcomed by the Trim Educate Together Start-Up Group which has been campaigning for an Educate Together school for the town for several years.
Carla Bannon, a member of the group said: “We are delighted. It is a huge relief for a lot of parents who were very concerned that their children were not baptised and also for parents of all different religions, whether Catholic, or not who wanted their children to go to a co-ed English speaking school right the way up. It will open access to this which is something Trim town never had before.”
Ms Bannon said Educate Togher is a different patron but it would be the same school system and will still be a national school with the same subjects and same class structures.
At at time when local primary schools are full up and huge pressure on school places for September, news that Educate Together has been given the go-ahead to start up a new school has been welcomed in the town.
Councillor Noel French said. “There is a crisis in the schools admissions in Trim. There is not enough places for children wishing to start national school. This is a huge problem and very worrying for parents. A new school will help alleviate this problem.”
He added that there are over 50 children on waiting lists to get into the parish school in Trim and urged the Department of Education to ensure there are enough places for Trim children for the coming years.
Meath West TD Ray Butler said: “It’s very positive news that a new Educate Together school is to be opened in Trim to help cater for the town’s diverse population. Minister Quinn has recognised the need to expand the patronage options for parents and their children when it comes to choosing primary schools.
“The Department is now working closely with Educate Together to ensure all provisions are put in place to allow it to open the new school serving the Trim community in September. The new school will come as a very welcome addition to the educational landscape in the town.”
Trim was one of of five towns around the country where surveys on parental preferences for patronage were carried out on a pilot basis in the autumn of 2012. The survey found there was a demand for an Educate Together School in the town.