Calls for Education minister to include dual language signage in new shared school campus in Omagh

Education minister Paul Givan has been urged to install dual Irish-English signage in shared spaces at a new major education campus to be used by six schools in Co Tyrone.

The Strule Shared Education Campus is expected to open to pupils in September 2028 at a cost of £375million, and will see five existing schools vacate their current buildings in Omagh to the shared facility, alongside a sixth school which has already opened at the site.

Arvalee, Omagh VBS, Loreto, Omagh Academy, Omagh High and Sacred Heart College share facilities and recreation spaces in what has been described as a “pioneering” approach to education in the north. The schools contain a mixture of various sectors, including Catholic maintained and controlled schools.

This week, members of Fermanagh and Omagh District Council passed a motion calling on the Department of Education to introduce the Irish and English signage in the shared spaces of the campus.

The motion was proposed by Omagh DEA councillor Barry McElduff and also included calls for the department to ensure there was “adequate provision” of GAA pitches at the campus.

Cllr McElduff said there was a “particular onus” on the Department of Education to promote the Irish language at the campus.

• Unionist parties in the council opposed the motion, instead proposing an amendment which would allow for trilingual signage, to include Irish, English and Ulster Scots.

While other parties in the chamber had indicated they would support such a move, the Sinn Féin controlled council passed the original motion.

Paul Givan’s department has said each school will determine what signs are used within its own facility, while a decision on shared spaces will be “taken jointly” by all schools in the campus.

“In line with established practice in the construction of a new school, each school will determine the language or languages used for signage within its own building, including branding and logos,” a departmental spokesperson said.

“The Shared Education model supports each school in retaining its distinct identity, ethos and values. Shared spaces are an extension of all schools on the campus and decisions on signage in these areas will therefore be taken jointly.

“Over the past year, the Strule Programme has undertaken extensive stakeholder engagement, including public surveys with almost 1000 responses, presentations to school and community groups, and site visits to provide updates on campus plans.

“The Department will continue to engage with principals, schools and managing authorities as part of the wider development of campus design.”

Local Irish language rights group Phobal ar a’n Iúl has said the introduction of Irish language to the shared campus is a “positive opportunity”, but that questions they have put to the department have gone unanswered.

Spokesperson Seán Ó Raghallaigh said: “We asked the Strule Programme Office straightforward questions: will bilingual signage be the design standard for the shared campus, and does the campus have an official Irish-language name? The Department’s reply answered neither.

“The Identity and Language Act gives official recognition to Irish, and the neutral choice for a genuinely shared building is bilingual provision — English-only signage is itself a choice, one that makes the Irish language invisible.

“This is a positive opportunity. Irish belongs to everyone in Omagh, and a campus that reflects that would be something every pupil and every school could take pride in. We are confident that, with goodwill, this can be resolved well before the campus opens.”