Member's statement: Lisneal College: 20th Anniversary

Member's statement by Mr Gary Middleton on 3 February 2025.

MLA

Mr Gary Middleton

Party at the time

Democratic Unionist Party

Date

3 February 2025

Type

Member's statement

Business

Members' Statements

Heading

Lisneal College: 20th Anniversary

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4773597

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I rise to speak about an issue that has been raised in the media over the past couple of days in relation to Lisneal College, which is in my constituency. I had already been planning to make a statement in the Chamber on the success of Lisneal College, which has just marked 20 years since its formation. The school has been through a decade of positive transformation and has gone, as one BBC headline put it, from inadequate to award winning. It has been leading the way on new initiatives, most recently the mobile-phone-free initiative, which has received widespread positive recognition. The principal was recently named "Head Teacher of the Year in a Secondary School" in a prestigious UK-wide award. Many pupils go on to continue the school's record-breaking achievements throughout their learning, and the school continues to work closely with the community sector. Those are positive points about Lisneal College. It is deeply regrettable that a small section of the media and some politicians have chosen to try to tarnish that reputation by shining a negative light on Lisneal and calling into question the processes that it, like other schools across Northern Ireland, has followed. As has been stated publicly, Lisneal College continues to grow and develop, having doubled its intake in recent years. With over 1,000 pupils, it is inevitable that facilities must be restored, renewed and expanded. The project in question relates to the provision of sporting and physical educational facilities in the school in a process that began almost six years ago. The process has been through the business case and planning stages, just like all projects would be expected to. The notion that funding was awarded due to some backroom deal is not only inaccurate but completely offensive. It is also a shameful attempt at politicking and slander towards a section of our education community. The comments that have appeared across social media have caused much stress and hurt. The blatant sectarianism of some contributors online has done extreme damage. I ask those who engage in such behaviour to stop. As a former pupil of Clondermot High School, which went on to amalgamate with Faughan Valley High School to form Lisneal College, I remember the days of wearing the uniform in Londonderry and having to keep my head down and cover the badge just because of the school that I went to. Due to the leadership of the school and its teachers and the greater tolerance within the wider city, I am pleased that pupils are now walking with their heads held high. I have a proud record of working with all schools across my constituency. I urge all elected representatives to reach out, to get the facts and to focus on improving all educational facilities so that our children have the best chance in life.

471 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 11:51 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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