Anger at lack of Irish A-Level provision in Derry schools

There is anger in Derry where only one school in the city is offering A-Level Irish to Year 13 students from other post-primary schools.

Thornhill College and Lumen Christi College are the only two schools in the city providing A-Level Irish, the Derry News has learned.

The situation has been described as 'grossly unfair' by the president of Conradh na Gaeilge, Dr Niall Comer, while the Bishop of Derry, Most Rev Dr Donal McKeown, a fluent Irish speaker, said he hoped 'all our excellent post-primary schools can find ways to offer a range of minority subjects.'

Derry News understands at least three Year 13 students, from three different post-primary schools in the city who had chosen to study A-Level Irish this year, have been unable to do so.

One of the students, who spoke to this paper, said they were 'heartbroken' at the prospect of not being able to continue studying Irish.

Their clearly frustrated parent added: “Irish is not just a subject for my child, it is a core part of their personality and identity. I cannot understand how, in his jubilee year, in the city of the great Gaelic saint, Colmcille, where renowned poets including Seamus Heaney received their educations, children who want to study A-Level Irish, are being told they cannot.

“If we lived in France, Spain or Italy, we would not be faced with the ridiculous situation of a young person being unable to study their native language or in their native language.”

The young person concerned had attended Irish medium nursery and primary school and had studied several post-primary subjects through Irish, before obtaining their GCSE Irish and GCSE Gaeilge. They are now faced with the prospect of not being able to access a Year 13 A-Level Irish class, at any school in the city.

Carol Nic Conmara, the education officer with Cultúrlann Uí Chanáin, described the situation as 'scandalous.'

She added: “I would encourage any young person or adult who is interested in studying A'-Level Irish to get in touch with me here on 028-71264132. We will try and facilitate them in any way we can. If children cannot study A'-Level Irish, it is akin to denying them a future.”

At the beginning of September, it emerged Thornhill College had withdrawn from the Foyle Learning Community, in terms of its long-standing provision of A-Level Irish to students from other post-primary schools in Derry.

At the time of going to press, the school had not provided a requested comment on why it took that decision and whether or not partner schools and the parents of prospective A-Level Irish students had been informed of the decision in a timely fashion.

Lumen Christi College is now the only school in the city offering A-Level Irish to Year 13 students as part of the Foyle Learning Community. As well as its own students, pupils from three other post-primary schools are being facilitated in the class.

Due to timetabling clashes, three young people who wanted to study A-Level Irish there have been prevented from doing so.

It appears, both of the schools offering Year 13 Irish have timetabled the subject at the same time, which effectively means neither of the schools is an option for the three students.

Speaking to Derry News, Dr Niall Comer, of Conradh na Gaeilge, which promotes the Irish language in Ireland and worldwide, said: “The situation that children who have been educated through Irish and, indeed, those who have reached a good standard of Irish and wish to study it to A-Level, not being able to continue their studies to A-Level is grossly unfair.

“Language teaching, in general, is under serious pressure and there needs to be a complete rethink of how we deliver languages in the English-medium sector in particular.”

Referring to the 'long history of A-Level Irish in the city and the calibre of students produced,' Dr Comer, who is also the course director in Irish at Ulster University, Magee, agreed that Irish, as a taught subject, was in danger of being available to fewer and fewer students as time progressed

He added: “Modern languages are in a perilous state. Intervention is needed by the Department of Education to resolve this. Considerable work has been done to highlight this issue by An Gréasán, a network of Irish language teachers, and there is no doubt, Irish as a taught subject is under its greatest threat in many years.

“The continuous reduction of contact time with the language, the absence of a language programme in primary schools and pupils being forced to choose between languages and more 'attractive' subjects on a yearly basis is having a hugely detrimental effect on the uptake.

“Pupils are being denied in many instances a fair chance to continue their studies. In recent years, there has been a huge emphasis on promoting STEM subjects within schools. In many cases, it would appear, that an emphasis has been disproportionate and that languages have been the greatest to suffer, Irish in particular.

“This is already having an impact, not only on teaching, but the employment in the Irish language sector in general. Last year alone, there were more than 500 jobs advertised in Ireland outside teaching with the language as a key component, so it is clear there is a high level of demand for students competent in the language.

“We know there is a dearth of teachers competent enough in Irish to deliver the ever-growing demands of the Irish-medium sector,” said Dr Comer.

Bishop Dónal McKeown, a fluent Irish speaker and chairperson of the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools (CCMS), said he had studied Irish to A-Level and had always had an interest in the language.

He added: “Having been a school principal, I know that there is huge pressure on cash-strapped schools to offer classes for popular subjects and that some subjects are not offered when very few students choose them. That was the whole purpose of the Area Learning Communities (although those Area learning Communities involve all schools and not just to CCMS schools).

“The idea was that pupils who wish to study a subject like Irish should be able to attend classes in a school and that comes down to both planning and agreement between the schools in question.

“Thus, if the Foyle Learning Community has not offered that subject co-operation, it would be appropriate to ask them and the governors of schools that are involved why not. With plenty of fore-knowledge and forward planning, co-operation ought to be possible. However, schools will timetable subjects only when they have some idea how many students are involved.

“I really hope that all our excellent post-primary schools can find ways to offer a range of minority subjects. Pupils deserve the best that schools can offer, individually and together. CCMS officers will help if asked, but you will appreciate that timetabling issues for individual schools rest with the Governors,” said Bishop McKeown.

Speaking to the Derry News, Derry City councillor, Emmet Doyle (Aontú) said it was 'not fair or equitable children educated through Irish until GCSE should be denied the option of studying the subject at A' Level.

Cllr Doyle added: “Not only does this have an impact on students' ability to progress their education in Irish, it often constitutes the end of their Irish journey, unless they then seek to engage with the language in the community or at university level. In many schools, the option to study a language is progressed from GCSE to A-Level and Irish should be no different. It also negates all of the good work being done by the Gaelscoil movement.

“I simply do not understand how timetabling, which is what I have been told is behind the problem, can stand in the way of a child's education.”

Foyle SDLP MLA Mark H Durkan told the Derry News he had studied Irish to A-Level and would have been upset had he been denied the opportunity, as have the students this academic year.

He added: “The opportunities now through Irish are so much greater in terms of future employment; media, teaching with many, many more gaelscoileanna. And there will be more still in public services if and when we see an Irish Language Act in some guise. Therefore, the opportunity being denied is huge.

"I would and will urge Foyle Learning Community to re-look at this with schools and even individual múinteoirí to see how this course can be provided within, or if absolutely necessary, without a formal education setting. I would urge any student who has been affected by this to contact my office directly."

Professor Malachy Ó Neill, the deputy vice-chancellor of Ulster University, Magee said he would be following the issue up with the chairperson of the Foyle Learning Community Network in order to clarify the situation.

When contacted by Derry News, a spokesperson for the Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People (NICCY) said: “it is essential that every child and young person enjoys their right to a high quality education which develops their personality, talents and abilities to the full.

“Part of NICCY's role is to ensure that children's rights are realised as outlined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).”

The Education Authority said the choice of subjects offered by a school at GCSE and A-Level was determined by the individual schools, not by the Education Authority or any of the other managing bodies.