Parents in Dublin 8 and Dublin 12 will hold a protest to express their frustration at the decision-making process of a new post-primary school in Harold’s Cross.
The ETHX campaign group, which is advocating for an Educate Together ethos for the new school, will hold a Protest for Postcode Equality this Friday, August 30 in Harold’s Cross Park, near the site of the proposed school.
The group has said that it has met with the Minister of Education to raise the concerns of more than 750 parents, many of whom are located just minutes away from the former racetrack on which the school will be opened.
Parents of children from D8 and D12 will not have a say as they are not included in the ‘school planning area’, but parents from D6, D6W and the Clonskeagh areas will all be consulted.
A parent from the D8 area, Asumpta Sweeney, previously told Dublin Gazette: “It is bizarre that children from D8 have been included in the catchment for the new Educate Together Secondary School in Sandymount but will not be able to attend the new Secondary School in Harold’s Cross.”
The new school will serve D6, D6W and Clonskeagh because the Department has identified that these schools are over-subscribed.
However, through a Freedom of Information Act request by a member of the ETHX group, parents have discovered that these schools are full because of a large number of pupils coming from D8 and D12.
In response to a query from Dublin Gazette, a spokesperson from the Department of Education said: “New schools established to meet demographic demand are required to prioritise enrolments from within the school planning area which the school was established to serve.
“This does not preclude schools from enrolling pupils from outside of the designated school planning area(s) where they have sufficient places, and this new school may offer an additional option for parents in D8 and D12 if there are available places.”
It is expected by the group that more than 200 people will gather to protest this Friday.
