The PIRCH project is a major partnering project for 6 pairs of Post Primary Schools in the NEELB area, funded by the International Fund for Ireland.
The overall funding from the IFI for the project across the NEELB area
is £1,153,000. The project will run until December 2013.
The concept is for schools to work on a partnership basis, sharing
and collaborating in many aspects of school life, in what can broadly be
described as a model of ‘shared education’.
The acronym ‘PIRCH’ stands for the following;
Partnership
Inclusion
Reconciliation
Citizenship
History
Each of these relates to a key element of the project, with the notion of an on-going partnership
being the key dynamic which it is hoped will develop and grow naturally
to bring about educational, economic and societal benefits for each
pair of schools and the community which they serve.
The schools involved in the project are;
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Magherafelt High School and St. Pius X College, Magherafelt
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Coleraine College and St. Joseph’s College, Coleraine
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Parkhall College and St. Benedict’s College, Randalstown
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Ballycastle High School and Cross and Passion College, Ballycastle
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Dunclug College and St. Patrick’s College, Ballymena
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Ballymoney High School and Our Lady of Lourdes High School, Ballymoney