Madam, – In his analysis of the publication by the Department of Education of its study into the possible divesting of Catholic primary school patronage (Analysis, August 4th), Patsy McGarry states that “There is also a concern that schools under new patronage may lead to more social division. Many secular schools today cater to children of the better-off and to the exclusion of more marginalised groups in society such as Travellers”.
There is a clear implication in this that schools under the patronage of Educate Together are somehow there to cater for the elite and that they do not encourage pupils from marginalised groups in society to attend. This is a misrepresentation of the situation. Educate Together Schools are multi-denominational, co-educational, democratically run and open to all. Of our 58 schools, 27 are in the greater Dublin area and are spread across all areas of the city.
Pupils in our schools come from families in every income bracket and every ethnic group and the suggestion that the better off are over-represented is simply not true.
The fact that a slightly higher percentage of our schools are part of the Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) initiative than the national average is evidence of this. – Yours, etc,