Written evidence (dated 23 January 2006)
from Saint Catherine's College, Armagh
I write with reference to communication I have
received which indicates that some members of the Northern Ireland
Affairs Committee may be confused by the explanatory memorandum
I sent to the Committee on 12 December. I gave the explanatory
memorandum because I was concerned that my answer to your question
No 49 was misinterpreted.
Q49. In terms of percentages. Mr Young said
that although his was anon-demoninational school there were 400
Catholics there. Yours is a Catholic School and we accept that
but how many Protestants and others are there?
You, in earlier questions (Q47 and Q48) raised
the issue of the "mix" within Saint Catherine's College.
I sought clarification of what the Chairman meant by "mix"
and as is obvious from the transcript I was hesitant in responding
until I was clear that I understood the question. It was in response
to your explanation of mix as "Protestant and others"
that I first talked about Protestant and others as being, in percentage
terms, "a significant minority". When prompted further
by your suggestion of 10% I agreed that 10% was a possible figure.
My explanatory memorandum (Appendix A) confirms the accuracy of
that 10%. Had I been asked specifically how many Protestants there
were in the school I would have given a different answer.
In your letter of 7 December you specifically
asked if I could "confirm in writing the proportion of students
at the College who are from a Protestant background" (For
letter, see Evidence page 114). Based on statistical information
held by the Department of Education, 0.05% of the school population
declare themselves Protestant.
I further wish to state for the record that
90% of the intake of Saint Catherine's College comes from the
Catholic Maintained Primary School Sector. The other 10% from:
1. The Integrated Sector.
2. The Irish Medium Sector.
3. The Controlled Sector.
(See Annex A.)
Saint Catherine's College is a school in the
Catholic tradition but it is not just a school for Catholics.
It does not make membership of the Catholic faith a requirement.
I hope that this additional clarification finally dispels any
remaining confusion.
It is regrettable that this misinterpretation
has arisen. I attended the meeting of the Northern Ireland Affairs
Committee in order to help focus the current debate. I answered
the questions posed as I understood them. I am grateful to you
for your forbearance and for the time you have given to this matter.
It was never my intention to mislead. I sincerely regret the misunderstanding
and I hope the additional information I have provided gives the
clarification on the point of detail that you require.
I wish you every success with your evidence
gathering and look forward to the best possible educational provision
for all the children of Northern Ireland. I look forward to reading
your report.
Margaret A Martin
Principal
23 January 2005
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