People power helps to save St Mary’s PS


AFTER a long, hard-fought campaign, the community in Fivemiletown is celebrating a very happy New Year with the news it has saved St Mary’s Primary School from closure. Having spent 2023 protesting and fighting for the school’s survival, it has been confirmed the community-led campaign has been successful and people power has prevailed, with the proposal to shut St Mary’s now […]

Court date set for St Mary’s legal challenge


THE CAMPAIGN to save St Mary’s Primary School in Fivemiletown took another step forward this week, when a date for the legal challenge against its closure was set for the High Court in Belfast. Since the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools (CCMS) and the Education Authority (EA) earmarked the school for closure in January this year, […]

‘Conflict of interest’ concern over St Mary’s closure


THERE have been renewed calls for the proposal to close St Mary’s Primary School in Fivemiletown to be withdrawn after it emerged one of the key officials to vote for the closure had an alleged conflict of interest. In January this year both the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools (CCMS) and the Education Authority (EA) earmarked […]

Community ‘steps out’ for St Mary’s Primary School


HUNDREDS took to the streets of Fivemiletown over the weekend in a show of support for St Mary’s Primary School in Fivemiletown. Parents, pupils, politicians, clergy and many members of the wider community made up the 500-strong crowd that “stepped out” on Saturday morning and walked from St Mary’s Church to the much-loved school, which has been slated for closure […]

Enrolment surges at school threatened with closure


A LOCAL school that is being threatened with closure saw its enrolment surge by more than 30 percent last year – higher than any other school of its kind in the North. Last week local church and political leaders hit out at the Council for the Catholic Maintained Schools (CCMS) for refusing to withdraw its […]

Primary school in line for massive million-pound revamp


THERE were celebrations at the Newtownbutler school on Monday morning after word came through a local primary  was one of only a handful of schools to be selected for major funding. St Mary’s Primary School has secured funding for a major extension project that will include several new classrooms and a new library.  This will […]