Shared campus plan in Moy, Co Tyrone that was 10 years in the making is ‘drawn to a close’ by Department of Education

Shortly after getting the green light in 2019, an integrated consultant team were appointed by the Education Authority (EA) to oversee the development at Moy which would be home to Moy Regional Primary and St John's Primary.

Belfast firm Isherwood Ellis told the News Letter that at the end of last week they were contacted by EA to say “the whole thing has been shelved”.

The contract had been valued at £450,000 but the firm saw precious little of that cash as they only got to the first stage of the planning procedure which is putting in a proposal.

The shared education campus proposal had been in place since 2013 but was faced with many delays and difficulties.

The plan had been to for the controlled and maintained schools to use the new school building together, but to remain as separate schools.

In a letter to parents of the schools, the Department of Education said that in recent years “the level of sharing between the schools in Moy has been unable to develop to the extent needed to make a shared campus arrangement practicable within the timeframes required”.

Conall Hamill, the former chairman of the board of governors of St John's Primary which has 200 pupils to Moy Regional Primary’s 80, told BBC News NI: "This is a lost opportunity for shared education in a post-conflict society and a missed chance to build 21st Century educational and recreational facilities for the entire Moy community.

"The majority of parents and children will be negatively impacted by the DE statement whilst both schools continue to operate with inadequate facilities, an issue the DE acknowledges."

The first shared campus in Northern Ireland is set to be in Limavady, a site visited by Hillary Clinton recently, where pupils from Limavady High School and St Mary's High School will share an £11m new building.

The Limavady campus, along with one in Ballycastle and the ill-fated one in Moy were originally approved by the former Education Minister John O'Dowd in 2014.