Search
06 Sept 2025
Search
06 Sept 2025
Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content.
Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist.
If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter .
Support our mission and join our community now.
To continue reading this article, you can subscribe for as little as €0.50 per week which will also give you access to all of our premium content and archived articles!
Alternatively, you can pay €0.50 per article, capped at €1 per day.
Thank you for supporting Ireland's best local journalism!
Kilross Primary School near Tobermore has been earmarked for closure by the Education Authority.
A consultation period has begun over the proposed closure of a County Derry primary school.
Kilross Primary School near Tobermore is earmarked for closure by the Education Authority (EA) in August next year with an eight week consultation period set to go ahead from today (Tuesday).
In recent years, the controlled primary school's numbers have continued to fall.
In 2021/22, the south Derry school had just 26 pupils enrolled, falling well short of the Sustainable Schools Policy's minimum threshold for a rural school, which is 105 pupils.
Operating with 2.49 teachers, including a teaching principal, the school on Duntibryan Road is attended by pupils who come mainly from the surrounding area.
The EA proposal has suggested that the current pupils could instead attend the nearby Tobermore Primary School or Spires Integrated Primary School in Magherafelt.
The EA said that Kilross has experienced a downturn in pupil numbers over the past number of years, with numbers never exceeding 44 in the last eight years, and based on admission trends and birth rates within the area, the enrolment numbers are not projected to increase substantially.
Currently, the school is not operating within its in-year budget and the EA believe that closing it would be the best option to save money.
Despite all this, Kilross has been successful in achieving many awards over the years, including the Ulster Scots Schools Flagship Award, the Green Eco Schools Award and the Rights Respecting School Bronze Award.
The school has also been involved in a shared education programme with Gaelscoil na Speiríní in Draperstown.
The school's board of governors had enquired about the possibility of transforming to integrated status however the EA said this 'would not provide for a sustainable solution'.
The EA recognised the 'commitment' of the governors however it stated that the 'current circumstances would not provide for sustainable broad and balanced curricular provision of pupils currently attending Kilross Primary School'.
A copy of the Proposal and Case for Change can be viewed on the Education Authority's website or at their offices during business hours.
Any objections or support to the proposal should be submitted within two months.
Subscribe or register today to discover more from DonegalLive.ie
Buy the e-paper of the Donegal Democrat, Donegal People's Press, Donegal Post and Inish Times here for instant access to Donegal's premier news titles.
Keep up with the latest news from Donegal with our daily newsletter featuring the most important stories of the day delivered to your inbox every evening at 5pm.
This publication supports the work of the Press Council of Ireland and Office of the Press Ombudsman, and our staff operate within the Code of Practice of the Press Council. You can obtain a copy of the Code, or contact the Council, at www.presscouncil.ie, Lo-call 1800 208 080 or email: info@presscouncil.ie.
