Ruadhán Jones
Principal Paul McClean (center) The principal of Cross and Passion College Ballycastle welcomed the “wonderful opportunity”, which will allow the secondary school to expand while maintaining its Catholic ethos.
Planning permission has been granted for a shared campus between the Catholic school and Ballycastle High School, a local Church of Ireland school in the Co. Antrim town.
Principal Paul McClean said it’s a chance to continue “building bridges” between the communities, which have a long history of collaboration.
“We’re delighted in the town because the two schools have a long history of sharing education,” Mr McClean told The Irish Catholic. “And what this does is allow both schools to continue with their own ethos and their own identity and their own board of governance and leadership.
“It allows parental choice in the kind of value system they want their children brought up in.”
The Cross and Passion Order established a school in the town in 1913, before opening the campus on Moyle Road, Ballycastle in 1924.
Principal McClean said that “it is a tribute to their legacy, and the many staff and governors from both schools since then, that this special and celebrated project is being furthered, 100 years later”.
The £50 million campus will be funded under Fresh Start Programme of works for Shared Education, with the Minister for Education praising the “huge investment”.
“I am pleased that planning permission has been granted for this unique project, which represents a huge investment of £50 million of Fresh Start funding,” Minister Michelle McIlveen said in a statement.
“This scheme marks a new era for Ballycastle High School and Cross and Passion College, providing a brand-new shared campus and top quality sports facilities.”
The project will involve shared core buildings for each school, with the facility shared for practical subjects and study areas, as well as GAA and soccer pitches, and an indoor facility.