Concerns about Education Authority plans to close ‘Ulster Scots’ primary school in Ballycarry
Concerns have been raised about plans by the Education Authority to close a village Primary School in Co Antrim which has a strong Ulster Scots heritage.
The Education Authority (EA) says Ballycarry Primary School currently has only 30 pupils from a village of 1,500 people, and that it needs at least 105 to be viable.
It is proposing to close the school from August 31 2027.
However Co-Chair of the school's Parent Teacher Association, Mark Torbitt, says authorities have refused support which could boost enrollment.
"There are 294 primary school aged children in Ballycarry and we're losing them to Whitehead and Islandmagee Primary Schools because the EA have limited our growth by refusing us a nursery unit, which we could sustain, and also refusing us special needs p.
"And we have room. It is a massive building with tons of room for both of those provisions."
He spent 18 months setting up a playgroup and got 13 children enrolled but in order to get EA support he needed another four, so was not able to qualify.
"They seem to be dead set on pulling the heart out of small rural schools and just shutting them," he added.
Many children from the village attend nearby Islandmagee Primary School and Whitehead Primary Schools which he said have 145 and 383 children - but he says they are almost at full capacity of 165 and 390.
He also complained that while a zoom consultation call was held with parents in January, they were only given 24 hours notice before it took place - and the 17 page proposal was just published the day before the call.
Ulster Scots enthusiast Dr David Hume is a member of Ballycarry Community Group and has lodged an objection to the closure in Ulster Scots.
"We want to see is the Education Authority going to reply in Ulster Scots, and having spoken to the commissioner, we're watching that very closely," he said.
He said the Commissioner for Ulster Scots visited the school recently and empathised with their plight.
Ulster Scots history and culture is taught at the school, though he does not believe it is taught at other nearby schools.
"The children are going to lose out,” he added.
There are planning applications for new housing developments which could bring more children to the village, he added.
A spokesperson for EA said they welcome all feedback on the closure proposals up until 24 March 2026.
A spokeswoman said: "The proposal is being taken forward to provide for more sustainable primary school provision in the area and is assessed against the Department of Education’s ‘Schools for the Future: A Policy for Sustainable Schools’."
This policy says that the minimum threshold for a rural primary school is 105 pupils.
"Over the last eight years, the enrolment at Ballycarry Primary School has declined from 70 pupils in 2018/19 to the current enrolment of 30 pupils in 2025/26.
"The next closest controlled primary schools have available places.
"The number of primary school aged children in the borough council area is projected to decline in the years ahead."
All responses to the consultation will be considered and a case for change document brought to the EA’s Strategic Planning and Policy Committee, it added.