THE EDUCATE Together movement to extend its network of primary schools to Enniscorthy. The organisation's Niall Wall briefed parents last week on the bid to provide non-denominational education at a new premises in Drumgoold.

With numbers of children of school-going age expanding, and existing primary schools around the town bursting at the seams, there is a demand for a fifth school. At a meeting in the Riverside Park, Niall Wall confirmed that Educate Together is keen to fill the gap.

And, with the Department of Education poised to provide a building, the new school could be up and running in September. Some site works have already been carried out in Drumgoold and high-spec kit can be imported from Austria to provide the building in short order. The meeting was addressed by principals from the two existing Educate Together schools in County Wexford. Raymond Swan in Gorey, where Educate Together is in its fifth year, assured the audience in the Riverside that the wooden frame Austrian buildings are up to standard. Wexford Educate Together School parent Caitriona Staunton had a few words for families who might be thinking of following suit in Enniscorthy: 'There's a lot of work and there are challenges but it is worth it.'

Niall Wall, formerly manager of Murphy-Flood's hotel and a resident of Enniscorthy, stressed that the proposed initiative was no threat to the existing primary schools. He described St. Aidan's primary, for example, as a fabulous school, brilliantly run. But he suggested that some of the four are keen to reduce numbers.

Educate Together has 56 schools on its books, with over 11,000 primary age children experiencing an approach that includes no uniforms and calling teachers by their first names. Denominational religious education is encouraged, but strictly outside normal school hours.