Ballykelly Primary School had one of the most balanced Catholic/Protestant enrolments of any school in Northern Ireland for the 2011-2012 academic year. Of its 267 pupils, 43 per cent were Protestant, 48 per cent Catholic and 9 per cent “other”.
School principal Helen Cole said: “We are a historically naturally integrated school because we serve the whole community of Ballykelly and surrounding areas . . . Our school mission statement is to provide a caring, secure environment where individuals of all backgrounds, races and religions can feel welcome and valued and are encouraged to learn and develop to their full potential.
“All clergy are welcomed into the school and we offer sacramental preparation to those primary four and primary seven children who wish to make their First Holy Communion or to be confirmed.”
She says the main benefit of having a balanced religious intake is that “children learn to respect each other and each other’s opinions and traditions and we can see how similar we all are in many respects”.
Most Catholic-managed schools cater for a very small number of Protestant children. However, 35 per cent of pupils attending St Columbanus’ College in Bangor last year were Protestant.
The school’s principal, Liam Perry, said: “We have children who are Catholic, Protestant, of other faiths and none who attend our college. The work we do is underpinned by the values of the Gospel. We place great emphasis on the core principles of honesty, integrity, self - respect, mutual respect and working in the service of others.
“Obviously these are not the sole franchise of Catholic schools . . . We believe that inclusion is not simply about embracing diversity in terms of religion but also in terms of race, ethnicity and ability.
“In short we have a clear belief system. We are unapologetically a faith school. Parents and children seem to like this. Those who don’t simply won’t enrol. In this sense we are exclusively Catholic but certainly not exclusively for Catholics.”
At Greenhaw Primary in Derry 95 per cent of the 278 pupils attending the controlled school last year were Catholic. Only six children were Protestant and nine were in the “other” category.
Principal Vindi Torney said the school “still has four trustees from the Presbyterian Church who sit on the board of governors. The chair is the minister from the church, the vice chair is a WELB representative and is Catholic as are the parent representatives. I am a Sikh by birth and have been principal for 14 years.”
“The governors, of whichever tradition, have always supported and encouraged the work of the school. This I believe has been the key to the growing pupil numbers.”