“informed by the reaction of the people they serve”

The Belfast Telegraph reports that 7,023 registration forms have been received for the Association for Quality Education version of the privatised post-primary transfer test – with only 4,600 places available at the associated schools. Figures for the GL Assessment test are due next week and are reportedly expected to number around 6000, with roughly 4,200 places available. Meanwhile, Catholic Bishop Donal McKeown is threatening to veto the appointment of future school governors who don’t toe the line. He may find it more difficult to veto parents.. Which, I think, is what Frank Cassidy is hinting at in the BBC report

Frank Cassidy principal of Louis Grammar School in Ballymena said he hoped that “wise heads would prevail” in future appointments to boards of governors. “Any board of governors can only take a school as far as the audience it serves wishes to go,” he said. “You can lead in a certain direction and hope that people will follow you so any actions that board of governors take will be informed by the reaction of the people they serve to those decisions. “And I would hope that wise counsel will prevail and that decisions that are taken in the future about configuration of Catholic grammar schools will be wise ones.”

Pete Baker