Oakgrove Integrated College

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**Oakgrove Integrated College**

Address	Stradreagh Derry Co Londonderry BT47 6TG
Telephone	(+44 28) 7186 0443
Fax	(+44 28) 7186 0443
Principal	Jill Markham
School type	Integrated College
School Board	WELB
Location	Derry, Northern Ireland, UK
Enrollment	940 students
School colour(s)	Navy, Maroon, Black

Oakgrove Integrated College is an English-medium college / Secondary school based in Derry, Northern Ireland. The all-ability school was founded in 1992 with the hope of integrating young people from both sides of Northern Ireland's religious divide and giving all of its students 'Self-esteem'.

1 History
2 Integration
3 External links
4 References

[edit] History

The first roots of Oakgrove were in an informal meeting between several teachers and parents on the separation of children, on academic, sexual and religious grounds. ^[1] It was agreed that Derry should have an Integrated College and Primary School. Up to this point, despite being the second largest urban area in the province, the city had done without.

This informal meeting went onto several formal ones, which laid the foundation of two new schools in the city. Oakgrove Integrated Primary School and Oakgrove Integrated College.

The college was founded in September 1992, the 17th integrated school in Northern Ireland. The fledgling institution moved into half of an old hospital building in Gransha Park, beside Strathfoyle in the northern outskirts of the city. The college only offered ‘First Year’ or ‘Year 8’ in this first year with eight teachers. In the first year it had a total of 72 students.

In the following year the school took over the second half of the building and added 7 new teachers and a new year. This continued year on year, adding 7 new teachers and building temporary classrooms until 1998 when the school covered all seven years of secondary education for its eight-hundred pupils.

In 2003 the school finally moved into its new state of the art buildings built several hundred meters down the road from the old school. Today the college continues to grow from strength to strength.

[edit] Integration

Northern Ireland is viewed as a divided place, a country where adults and child can be separated on religious, social and political grounds. Oakgrove, and other integrated institutions like it have been used in the country to try and offer a middle ground for parents who want their children to learn in a safe, and unbiased environment.^[2]. Oakgrove is based on the ethos that everyone is equal and has the right not to be discriminated against in any way, particularly with regard to religious or cultural identity, or gender, or ability. The College aims to do this by developing the self-esteem of each member of the schools community. This underpins both the academic and the social education of the students.