BY NUALA MCALOON
Portora Royal School in Enniskillen is one of the 13 schools in Northern Ireland to be awarded this week 'specialist school status'.
The news came as Education Minister Caitríona Ruane announced that the selected schools would be included in the second year of the Specialist Schools Pilot.
"I wish to congratulate the 13 schools on their success and to thank the panel members for their work during the assessment process", she stated. I know that the panel was impressed by the commitment and energy expended and the high degree of professionalism evident in all of the applications, and I hope that this is some compensation for those schools who were not successful this time."
Following an evaluation of the first year of the pilot scheme, schools were invited to submit applications seeking inclusion in year two of the scheme. Some 98 post-primary schools attended information sessions on the specialist application process, and applications were received from 25 schools.
Portora will be designated for a period of four years and will receive £100 per pupil in each of the four years to support equally the implementation of the school and community development plans and up to £100,000 support grant to add to the £25,000 sponsorship raised to enhance provision in the specialist area. The assessment of the applications was rigorous, and a final list of 13 schools, each meeting the criteria, was drawn up and subsequently submitted to the Department for consideration. Portora has specialised in Performing and Visual Arts, which includes Art and Design, Music, Drama, and Moving Image.
The Specialist School team is by Trevor Smith and comprises Cara Doherty (Art and Moving Image), Janet Goodall (School Improvement Data and Monitoring), Douglas Hutton (Art), Ian Hodgson (Music) and Caroline Peel (Drama).
The school had to prove that the specialism was an area of curricular strength, that it could use the specialism to drive the whole school improvement and, further, that it could use the specialism to develop links with other schools, Further Education Colleges and other community and business organisations for the benefit of individuals in the partner organisations.
In their advice to the Minister, the panel members said the applications demonstrated that the post-primary community was committed to excellence, and prepared to engage with other education partners and the community to enrich the learning experiences and life opportunities of young people, all for the benefit of their local community.
The new pilot schools cover a range of specialisms, school types and geographical areas.
In a statement to the 'Herald', the Portora Principal, Neil Morton explained how the Minister had remarked on the commitment and energy expended and the high degree of professionalism evident in their application.
"In our submission", he said, "we demonstrated a continuing commitment to excellence, and showed that we were prepared to engage meaningfully with our education partners and the wider community to enrich the learning experiences and life opportunities of young people, for the benefit of the community."
So, has the school demonstrated that it can use the specialism to drive whole school improvement?
"This is an enormous fillip for the school', Mr Morton added. " It is a clear recognition of the readiness of our teachers to embrace new challenges and an acknowledgement that the school is leading in key elements of the curriculum.
"We look forward to working with our partner schools in town to share our resources and expertise in Art, The Moving Image, Music and Drama. Our teachers in these areas will be visiting partner schools to initiate projects with pupils and teachers".
He reported that, already, over the last year, Portora had been collaborating with the Collegiate in GCSE and AS Drama and AS The Moving Image. In September, girls of Mount Lourdes and boys from Portora will join together in commencing a GCSE course in Drama.
