The NI Sharing in Education programme supports a range of projects which:
- Promote shared education by linking schools who are representative of different communities;
- Build on community relations within and among schools;
- Support cultural outreach amongst young people representative of the differing communities/traditions; and
- Address gaps in achieving reconciliation through a cross-community, cross-border approach to education.
Coleraine Grammar School, St. Joseph’s College and Loreto College work collaboratively on the DSC Signature Shared Education Project to make cross community curricular links an integral part of school life, creating enhanced educational and personal development opportunities for both pupils and staff.
Pupils have been involved in workshops for Y9 History, GCSE Art, A-Level Politics.Sixth Formers provide Literacy and Numeracy mentoring in neighbouring post-primary schools.
Politics Shared Education
The Politics Department engaged with Loreto College for a series of events considering the fortunes and policies of the main NI Political Parties.
Over 40 students from the 2 schools enjoyed 3 sessions, the first of which, hosted at Loreto, involved ice-breaker activities and a consideration of party policy. The second session was a trip to Stormont. The group were joined by politicians from the main parties for a question and answer session.
The final session happened the day after the Assembly election. Pupils were asked to play the role of party representatives explaining their party’s performance.
Overall the programme was a great success and plans are already in place to continue it this year.
