A merger of two Christchurch Catholic primary schools is under discussion. Under the proposal, Dallington’s St Paul’s School, which suffered severe earthquake damage, would form a new school with Our Lady of Fatima at its Mairehau site from 2015. St Paul’s is housed on an Education Ministry site in Champion St until the end of 2013, with a right to extend until the end of the 2014 school year. Catholic Education Office manager Mike Nolan said Education Minister Hekia Parata had agreed ”in principle” to support Bishop Barry Jones’ request to consult on the proposal. “Each school in the diocese has already been notified about this proposal. The next step would be a formal community consultation on the proposal during term four,” he said. The St Paul’s, Holy Family (Burwood) and Our Lady of Fatima parishes have already combined. Marian College was the only other diocesan school not on its original site. The college has been operating from a site near the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in Barbadoes St and is awaiting a further geotechnical assessment of its former North Parade site next August. Source:
- Stuff
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