Maynooth Schools Group
What is ‘The Maynooth Schools Group’?
‘The Maynooth Schools Group’ is a Public Movement made up of a group of local parents, who came together last February 2013. We consist of the Chairpersons and Members of Parents' Associations of the feeder schools into Maynooth Post Primary School. (MPPS) We initially met to discuss the Gerry Jeffers* meetings and the impact that the provision of a second, separate school was bound to have on the community of Maynooth, into the future.
*Dr Gerry Jeffers PhD, Education Department, NUI Maynooth was engaged by Co. Kildare VEC, as an independent consultant, to meet with various stakeholders and report on the views associated with the proposed developments at Mariaville. He met with parent bodies at each school and produced a detailed report of the way in which the community wanted the Schools project to proceed.
'There is a very strong, indeed overwhelming, support for a single school with Junior and Senior wings as the preferred model for the new campus. This desire is much greater than any concerns about, for example, large school size or denominational choice'. (Extract from Gerry Jeffers report)
• The question, 'Why must we have two separate schools and divide the school-going children?' has never been answered.
• The question, 'Why can we not have a Junior/Senior Cycle Campus?' has never been answered.
And yet, they're the only questions our community is asking.
Our Plan of Campaign for Junior/Senior School:
1. We are appealing the decision made by Minister Ruari Quinn that there would be two separate schools in our town
2. We are calling for a suspension of the enrolment policy for 2014, on the grounds that the new school will not be built until 2015
3. We are asking the Minister for guidelines on how we will conduct a ballot in our community to determine parental preference for how the new Maynooth Education Campus will be configured
