A West Cork primary school with just two pupils on its rollbook is to close next week.
A WEST Cork primary school with just two pupils on its rollbook is to close next week.
The historic Lissagriffin National School, which overlooks Barleycove Beach, will close its doors for good on Thursday, June 28th.
It has been confirmed that one of its remaining two students is heading off to secondary school in Schull next September, which leaves just one male student, who now has to make alternative plans.
Jim O’Meara, chairperson of the school board – whose own grandmother and father taught at the school – described how the school, which was once housed in a two-storey building, had between 80 and 90 pupils at its peak. But as farming declined and the number of small holdings decreased, and as peoples’ mobility increased, numbers at the school fell.
In the last few years, Mr O’Meara said there were about 18 pupils, and it had ‘a great atmosphere.’
He said: ‘It was more like a big family than a primary school. There was great friendship between the pupils, and the principal, Richard Lannin, was a very kindly able, professional man who did a terrific lot for the school.’
But with just one pupil remaining, there is no likely future for the school. When asked what will happen to the school now, Mr O’Meara said: ‘I have no idea in the world. I don’t know what function it might serve.’
