20/11/2001

Holy Cross parents decline school bus option

Only four children at the north Belfast school where loyalists have been protesting for 11 weeks took up the local education authority’s offer of transport on Tuesday morning.

The Belfast Education and Library Board (BELB) made two buses available for the Holy Cross Girls’ Primary School pupils to travel up the Ardoyne road past the protest on Tuesday, November 20.

However only four children took up the option with many parents reacting angrily to the move, saying they hadn’t been informed of the decision to supply buses. Other parents said they would still be taking their children up the Ardoyne Road past the protest as a matter of principle.

A spokesperson for the BELB said the use of buses means that the children don’t have to wait in the winter cold for the daily security force escort to school.

BELB also said although they will continue to monitor the situation in north Belfast from day to day in conjunction with the police and both communities they intend to supply two buses to ferry the pupils along the Ardoyne Road from 8.40 until 9.20am in the mornings all this week.

A private meeting took place later on Tuesday afternoon between the school governors of Holy Cross and the first and deputy first ministers David Trimble and Mark Durkan.

Meanwhile, a 31-year-old man has said he is so frustrated by events at the school that he intends to continue refusing food until a resolution to the Holy Cross dispute is found. The father of two children said he stopped eating at midnight last Wednesday. (AMcE)

Related Northern Ireland News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

02 March 2018
Schools Closures Across NI
The Department of Education have published a list of all schools across that have confirmed they will be closed today, Friday 2nd March, 2018 due to the adverse weather conditions.
22 January 2013
Heavy Snow Closes Over 80 Schools
Over 80 schools across Northern Ireland have been closed as the heavy snow continues to cause disruption on Tuesday morning. The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning, as the snow is continuing to affect many roads. Areas which have been majorly disrupted include Lisburn, Castlereagh and Carryduff.
21 October 2022
£5.5m School Holiday Food Grant Announced
The families of children entitled to free school meals will receive a school holiday food grant until March 2023, Education Minister Michelle McIlveen has announced.
28 August 2001
No resolution over flashpoint school access
With just days to go before primary school children are due to return to their classes the dispute over access to the Holy Cross Girls’ Primary School in the Ardoyne area of Belfast has yet to be resolved. Ongoing talks between residents and community leaders have failed to find a solution to the problem.
09 November 2001
Residents resume school protest in Ardoyne
Protestant residents in the Glenbryn area of north Belfast have resumed their protest outside the Holy Cross Primary School in Ardoyne on Friday afternoon.