A UK Government Minister has welcomed the opening of a new Shared Education facility in Limavady.
The Lord Caine, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, was in attendance at the official opening ceremony today (Wednesday) of the Limavady Shared Education Campus, bringing together Limavady High School and St. Mary's High School for certain classes.
The project was constructed with support from the UK Government's Fresh Start funding for integrated and shared education.
Speaking at the event, Lord Caine commended both schools for their "commitment to reconciliation and educational excellence" providing "state of the art facilities to enable young people to work together to reach their potential".
He said: "The Government believes that greater integration within education is an essential aspect of the reconciliation process in Northern Ireland. This was affirmed as a commitment in the Belfast Agreement.
"The Government also wants every child in the United Kingdom to have a high quality education, and for parents to have a genuine choice of high quality schools.
"It is for these reasons that the UK Government made available capital funding to build integrated and shared schools as part of the Fresh Start Agreement."
Welcoming the presence of both the First Minister and Deputy First Minister, and the Education Minister, at the shared campus opening, Lord Caine encouraged the new Executive to "progress with the important work of transformation and improvement in public services, including education."
He added: "The UK Government will continue to support and promote educational integration in Northern Ireland - for the future success of Northern Ireland rests on its young being able to grow up looking forward to a shared future, rather than back to a divided past."
