Councillors express fears over the future of education in Antrim

Thursday's emergency talks were sought by councillors after the board's education committee recommended the closure of Massereene College.

Councillors want the school's closure to be postponed until a proposed new 'super school' is built in the town.

The board will make a final decision on the school's closure on 22 February.

NEELB Chief Executive Gordon Topping and Senior Education Officer Gilly Irwin are to attend the meeting.

Councillors fear that if Massereene College closes as proposed, current facilities at Antrim's Parkhall College, where pupils would transfer, will be unsuitable.

Ulster Unionist councillor Stephen Nicholl said the board had "a lack of foresight" over secondary education in Antrim.

Inquiry

He said three schools in the town had closed in recent years and called upon Education Minister Barry Gardiner to hold an inquiry into secondary education in Antrim.

"The schools in Antrim are being closed in order to keep schools in Ballymena open," he said.

"The board has never been honest about how many children are educated in Ballymena that could be educated in this town."

SDLP councillor Thomas Burns said the board's decision to close Massereene College was premature.

"There are major concerns about the number of people leaving Antrim to go elsewhere," he said.