Skip to main content

Shared Education Improves Learning in Northern Ireland

Resource type: Video

The Atlantic Philanthropies |

Northern Ireland is a deeply divided society and the education system reflects the level of separation between Protestant and Catholic communities. More than 90 per cent of children attend religiously segregated schools. A declining school-aged population, however, has required administrators to find new ways of collaborating. The shared education programme involves two or more schools from different community backgrounds working together to share expertise, classes, facilities and teachers.

In Londonderry/Derry, two Catholic secondary schools, St. Cecilia’s College and St. Mary’s College, are sharing academic expertise and weekly citizenship classes with a Protestant school, Lisneal College. Recently, Lisneal faced pressure to improve standards in its science courses.

Learn More

> Read the full story

> Visit the Centre for Shared Education at Queen’s University of Belfast website

Queen’s University of Belfast Foundation is a grantee of Atlantic’s Reconciliation & Human Rights programme in Northern Ireland, which funds efforts to dispel prejudice through shared education in schools.

Related Resources

Issues:

Children & Youth, Human Rights & Reconciliation

Global Impact:

Northern Ireland

Tags:

shared education