16.10.2019
D&G Synod Members Receive Education Update
The Diocesan Synods of Dublin & Glendalough took place in Taney Parish Centre on Tuesday October 8 2019.
Developments in education in Dublin & Glendalough over the last year were outlined by Andrew Forrest on behalf of the Diocesan Board of Education.
He paid tribute to Archdeacon Ricky Rountree, who retired last year, for his long service to the Board of Education and to education in the wider Church of Ireland. He welcomed Archdeacon Neal O’Raw in his place.
Legislation relating to admissions to schools had been a particular area of concern for the board, Mr Forrest said, particularly where primary schools were oversubscribed. He thanked the Archbishop and Dr Ken Fennelly, secretary to the General Synod Board of Education, for their support and advice on the issue.
He highlighted developments at St Maelruain’s, Tallaght and St Matthew’s, Irishtown at primary level and at St Patrick’s Cathedral Grammar School and the King’s Hospital at second level.
He concluded by paying tribute to the principals, teachers and volunteers on boards of management for they work they do to continue to make the schools in the dioceses the places of excellence that they are.
Speaking to the report, Dr Norman Gamble, secretary of the board, noted that the schools of St Maelruain’s and St Catherine’s on South Circular Road, provided education for a community far beyond their parishes. “Both schools illustrate that our schools can only function properly if they are generous to the wider community. Schools where the parish says this is a school only for our parish children die and fade away. Both these schools provide an education for the community. They provide a basis for Christian education for the children who have been entrusted to them. I ask you all to support your parish schools and enable them to have a vision for the whole community for which the Church of Ireland is known and respected,” he stated.
John Aiken of the King’s Hospital thanked everyone who had supported them throughout the school’s 350th anniversary year. While Canon Peter Campion, chaplain at the King’s Hospital, highlighted the school’s inclusivity and the support provided to students of other faiths.