Dungiven Irish language school in new TV doc

Principal, Diarmaid Ua Bruadair says the BBC have commissioned a two-part documentary on the foundation of the school, which is set in the historic Dungiven Castle.

“Camera crews have been following the story of the staff and pupils who attend the school and the programme should be aired sometime in 2017-18,” said Mr Ua Bruadair.

The school opened its doors in September 2015 and has been praised in its first report by school inspectors.

It opened with 16 pupils, but enrollment has tripled to 48 with pupils from Dungiven, Derry city, South Derry, Dunloy and Strabane.

The Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI) in its recently published report gave the school the second highest rating ‘very good’.

Principal Ua Bruadair says that “confirms the progress that the school has made in a very short space of time and recognises the work of the governors, leadership and staff”.

“The quality of the educational experience that is being offered to the students at the school is excellent and unique,” he told the ‘Journal’.

“Governors, parents and school leaders set high expectations for the school and the pupils who attend the school. Community involvement in the school is central to the ethos and support has been evident from many different quarters.”

The ETI found achievements and standards, leadership and management to be “very good” while provision for learning was “good”.

The pupils’ behaviour was deemed to be “exemplary”, while “almost all pupils demonstrate maturity in managing and reflecting on their work and can articulate clearly how they are progressing in their learning.”

They also found the pupils’ use of Irish as the language of learning and social interaction is a significant strength of the school. Most of the lessons observed were “effective in promoting learning.

with almost one-half being highly effective.