Blackwater Integrated College

Blackwater Integrated College
Address
Map
12 Old Belfast Road[1]

Downpatrick
,
County Down
,
BT30 6SG

Northern Ireland
Coordinates54°20′20″N 5°42′56″W / 54.3388°N 5.7156°W / 54.3388; -5.7156
Information
School typeGrant Maintained Integrated
MottoBuilding, Inspiring, Caring
Established2008; 16 years ago (2008)
StatusOpen
Local authorityEducation Authority
PrincipalMr Stephen Taylor[2]
Staff52[2]
GenderCo-Educational
Age11 to 16
Enrollment230 (approx.)
Capacity400
Colour(s)   
Websitewww.blackwateric.org

Blackwater Integrated College is an 11-16 secondary school on a restricted site with about 230 pupils though with the capacity for twice as many. Mr S Taylor is the school's current principal.[3]

History and future proposals

Blackwater Integrated College opened in September 2008. It was formed as a merger of Down Academy and Rowallane Integrated College. Down Academy had been formed when Killyleagh, Castlewellan, and Quoile High Schools amalgamated in 1991. Down Academy became a controlled integrated school in 1998.[4] The Blackwater site was chosen for its central location.[5]: 18 

In 2019 Blackwater was one of 22 school with sustainability issues with too few pupils to remain financially viable.[6] The centre of school population is closer to Belfast, and additional capacity is needed to support students who failed to get a place at Lagan College.[5]: 26 

A period of consultation on the school's future ended 3 June 2021. With the support of the college, a new integrated college with an admission number of 100 was planned to open on a different site Mid Down Integrated College on 1 September 2023 and Blackwater Integrated College will close on or shortly after 31 August 2023.[5] This was not met due to no site being allocated. A new date has not been proposed yet.

Academics

The school is small so a single child can distort the statistic.[7] It fares well in inspections, and its year 12 results were above average for two of the last three reported years.[5]: 21, 22 

See also

References

  1. ^ "Contact Us". Blackwater Integrated College. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Staff". Blackwater Integrated College. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  3. ^ "Blackwater Integrated College [Downpatrick]". Education Authority Northern Ireland. 12 December 2019. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
  4. ^ http://apps.education-ni.gov.uk/insp/inspection_reports/2006_03/standard_inspection_down_academy_downpatrick.DOC
  5. ^ a b c d "Proposal 668 Blackwater" (PDF). www.eani.org.uk/. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
  6. ^ "22 Northern Ireland schools could close because of 'sustainability issues'". belfasttelegraph. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
  7. ^ "Post-primary-inspection-blackwater-integrated-college-downpatrick-county-down-426-0309" (PDF). www.etini.gov.uk. Retrieved 18 June 2021.


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