KILDARE: Call for councillors to back co-educational schools in Naas
Appeal for support
A Naas politician wants local councillors to back the proposal to provide co-educational schools at the Mercy Convent Primary School and St Corban’s Boys National School in the town.
Green Party councillor Bob Quinn will ask for their support at a Naas Municipal District meeting next week for his call for a letter to go to the Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin Dr Denis Nulty “offering encouragement in favour of the consultation to migrate from single sex schools to co-ed schools for both.”
Cllr Quinn said this would eliminate a lot of unnecessary journeys for parents with children in both schools “making our streets safer, less polluted and quieter every morning.”
Parents with children attending the Mercy Convent Primary School in Naas have criticised the delay in making the school co-educational.
They have already voted in favour of the move and the consultation process has been ongoing since 2022.
However, the school authorities say there will be no change until at least the start of the 2025-26 school year - because numerous factors need to be considered and some of these were raised by parents themselves.
MCPS has 540 pupils and currently takes boys only for junior and senior infants at which point they must then leave for another school, generally St Corbans Boys National School (which has 504 pupils), and co-ed status would mean they could continue with their primary education through to sixth class.