Two Christchurch Catholic primary schools may combine

Media Release
18 September 2012 (strictly embargoed until 4pm to allow school communities to be informed)

Two Christchurch Catholic primary schools may combine

Following severe earthquake damage to St Paul’s School, Dallington, the Catholic Diocese is proposing to combine St Paul’s School and Our Lady of Fatima School to form a new school on the current site of Our Lady of Fatima School in Mairehau, for the start of the 2015 year.

Currently St Paul’s is housed on the Ministry of Education’s Champion Street site until the end of 2013 with a right to extend this until the end of the 2014 school year.

Mike Nolan, manager, Catholic Education Office, said that the Minister of Education has agreed in principle to support the Bishop of Christchurch’s request for a consultation process on this proposal. That consultation will be undertaken by the Ministry of Education.

“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 4,” he said.

St Paul’s, Holy Family (Burwood) and Our Lady of Fatima parishes had already combined prior to the earthquakes as a result of the Bishop’s consultation process on the provision of Sunday Mass in the Catholic Diocese of Christchurch.

Of all the other diocesan Catholic integrated schools in the greater Christchurch area, only Marian College is not on its original site. It is presently situated beside the Catholic Basilica on Barbadoes Street awaiting a further geotechnical reassessment of its former North Parade site in August next year.

The status of all diocesan Catholic integrated schools in the greater Christchurch area is as follows:

ENDS

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