EXCITING times lie ahead for primary school education in Rosscarbery, with the opening of a new co-educational school. St Mary’s NS and Ardagh NS are amalgamating and from September, will be called Bunscoil Fachtna, after Rosscarbery’s patron saint.
Principal of St Mary’s, Sarah O’Brien explained how the motivation for the move was to provide mixed-sex education from junior infants right up to sixth class.
3rd class pupils at St. Mary's National School, Rosscarbery - Katie O'Driscoll, Annie-Mae Creedon, Clara Hogan,Caitlin Hayes and Abbie Herlihy enjoying the celebrations on Tuesday afternoon. Photo; Anne Minihane.Currently St Mary’s, which has 111 students and was founded in 1970, is mixed as far as first class, and is girls-only from second to sixth.
‘Historically, the boys went to Ardagh, which is just eight minutes away, from second to sixth. But it was felt that this was no longer suiting the children of the area, and the logic behind it wasn’t there for us any longer, particularly as Rosscarbery’s secondary school, Mount St Michael, is co-ed,’ said Sarah.
A split campus will be in operation initially until building works are complete at St Mary’s, which is still a few years off.
From next September, first and second classes will be taught in Ardagh, with the rest of the pupils at St Mary’s.
Principal of Ardagh BNS Anne McCarthy said they were looking forward to the next educational chapter of Rosscarbery.
‘We had a really successful commemoration evening this week to mark the closure, where we celebrated the past, present and future of our school and had great support from all the community,’ she said.
Ardagh NS, which currently has 58 pupils, was founded in 1884 and is steeped in history, with General Tom Barry and Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa among its past pupils.
Currently, students are busy designing new school crests, and decisions are being made on new uniforms.
Sarah described the amalgamation after 55 years as an ‘exciting and historical moment for both schools.’
‘As we prepare to officially close the doors of St. Mary’s Primary School on August 31st, we do so with a sense of gratitude and pride. Though this chapter is coming to an end, we look forward with optimism and excitement to the next stage of our journey as we unite and move forward together under a new name: Bunscoil Fachtna.’
‘It’s a momentous milestone in the educational history of Rosscarbery,’ she said.
