Integrated school set to close

The school is to close because of falling numbers

Another Northern Ireland primary school has been told it is to close because of falling numbers.

Groomsport Primary is the latest integrated school to get disappointing news from the Department of Education.

On Wednesday, plans to create or transform five other schools were turned down.

Groomsport has only 25 pupils at the moment and the government is planning to increase the minimum enrolment for rural schools to more than 100.

Parents were told at a carol service on Wednesday night that the school is to close by August.

DUP assembly member Alex Easton criticised the closure.

"I regard the closure decision as unjustified and frankly unjustifiable," Mr Easton said.

"It represents flawed thinking and I am concerned that we have an education minister who knows the price of everything but sadly in my opinion does not comprehend the value of education." < b>Funding

The three new integrated schools turned down for funding were a secondary in Antrim and primaries in Ballymoney, County Antrim, and Strabane in County Tyrone.

Two more existing primaries which wanted to transform into integrated have been turned down.

They are Knockbreda in Belfast and Collone in Armagh.

However, Education Minister Maria Eagles has agreed to a new primary school in Moira, the transformation of Tyrella Primary, the expansion of Omagh Primary and the move of Ballycastle nursery into the integrated primary.

In a separate announcement, Ballyduff Primary in Newtownabbey is to close in August 2007.