Integrated schools given go ahead

Two integrated schools are to open in September

Two integrated schools which were recently turned down for funding by Education Minister Angela Smith are to open in September.

Funding for Rowallane Integrated College in Saintfield and Clogher Valley Primary School was supplied by the Integrated Education Fund.

Rowallane College will get £500,000 and Clogher Valley will receive £250,000.

Both schools were among four refused funding by the Department of Education earlier this month.

The fund has not yet decided what to do about Lir Integrated Primary School in Ballycastle.

Earlier this month, Ms Smith said the new schools were turned down because they were proposed for areas which already had surplus capacity.

Integrated education has been promoted as a way to break down Northern Ireland's sectarian divisions.

The Integrated Education Fund is a charity established in 1992 to promote the development and growth of integrated education in Northern Ireland.

The first integrated school in Northern Ireland was Lagan College which opened near Belfast in 1981 and there are now 58 integrated schools with more than 18,000 pupils on the roll books.