UUP Leader Doug Beattie MC MLA said:

“Northern Ireland has been blighted by division and yet we do not take the brave steps to try to deal with that division.  The Ulster Unionist Party believes that our children should go from the playground to the classroom together, and from the classroom to the workplace together.  

“We need to end educational apartheid which is taking place here.  We need our children to get to know each-other from their early years.  We need a single education system in Northern Ireland that allows them to do that. 

“This is the future we want for our children.  It won’t be easy, but it will be worth it.  We need to have big aspirations to build a better Northern Ireland.  We must end segregation in our society.  A key part of that will be educating our children together.”