From barracks to pre-school

* Circle time will replace drilling when a former army base in Northern Ireland becomes the site for a new pre-school, following a ruling by economy minister Ian Pearson. After Mr Pearson considered a number of options, the former Royal Irish Regiment base in Magherafelt, Co Londonderry, is being offered to the North Eastern Education and Library Board, which will work with the Department of Education to take forward its plans to relocate local primary and nursery schools and to build a new pre-school facility there.