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'Dire need for more Irish language schools' in NI

BBC Aisling has brown hair tied up and is smiling at the camera. She has gold earrings on and a leopard print scarf and teddy bear woolly white coat on. BBC
Aisling Nic Giolla Bhéin is the acting principal of Scoil an Droichid

There is a "dire need" for another Irish-medium post-primary school in Belfast, the acting principal one of the city's Irish-medium primary schools has said.

The Education Authority (EA) has said that Northern Ireland still needs two new Irish language post-primary schools to meet the demand for Irish-medium education.

That is according to the latest EA operational plan for schools.

But the EA's previous operational plan for 2022-2024 had also highlighted the need for two new Irish-language post-primary schools.

There are currently two Irish-medium post primaries in Northern Ireland - Coláiste Feirste in west Belfast and Gaelcholáiste Dhoire in Dungiven.

Coláiste Feirste has previously warned it was facing an accommodation "crisis" due to its high number of pupils.

'Bursting at the seams'

The new EA plan contains proposals for another post-primary in north Belfast and another to serve the Londonderry, Fermanagh and Mid-Ulster areas.

Aisling Nic Giolla Bhéin is the acting principal of Scoil an Drochid in south Belfast, which has over 180 pupils.

She told BBC News NI that it was now time for the EA to deliver a new post-primary in Belfast.

"This was highlighted two years ago in the previous plan and we are still no further along with it," she said.

"It's time for the relevant authorities to stop denying the fact that this is an ever-growing sector.

"We can't continue to be neglected.

"The majority of the parents send their children up to Coláiste Feirste and for some of our children that is a three-bus journey depending on where they live.

"Coláiste Feirste are busting at the seams."

Scoil an Droichid sign with school behind it and grey sky. There's a playground with football nets behind the sign.

Scoil an Droichid is waiting on a long-planned move to a new school site on Belfast's Ormeau Road.

A number of new Irish-medium nursery and primary schools are also planned by the EA in areas including Londonderry, Belfast, Antrim and Swatragh.

The EA said that a new integrated Irish language primary school in east Belfast would "meet the needs of pupils" in the area.

Loyalists had previously criticised the plan for Naíscoil na Seolta to open in the Castlereagh area of the city.

Máire is standing in front of a colourful wall that has a map of Ireland with Irish place names on it. The map is orange, purple, green and yellow. The background of the map is baby blue and then there is writing on the wall in Irish 'Fáilte go', 'Gaelscoil' and 'Eire'.
Máire Ní Dhochartaigh is the principal of Gaelscoil Uí Dhochartaigh

In Gaelscoil Uí Dhochartaigh in Strabane, County Tyrone, some pupils face travelling to Letterkenny in County Donegal, in the Republic of Ireland, to continue their education after primary school.

Gaelscoil Uí Dhochartaigh principal Máire Ní Dhochartaigh said there was a real need for an Irish-medium post-primary nearby.

"The children could cross over the border and go to Coláiste Ailigh in Letterkenny or they could travel 40 minutes down the road to Dungiven as some of our pupils do and have done," she said.

"But it is quite a long distance.

"So our pupils don't have the facility to continue on in a sector that they're comfortable in and which they have been thriving in.

"We would like to see the possibility of a secondary school in maybe Omagh which children from Strabane could feed in to, or children from Fermanagh or Omagh town.

"It's definitely needed."

SEN schools

The EA plan has also highlighted a need for more special schools and classes for children with Special Educational Needs (SEN).

It said that the number of pupils in special schools is expected to grow from 7,600 in 2025 to around 8,700 by the end of the decade.

Education Minister Paul Givan has previously said that up to eight new special schools need to be built to meet demand.

The EA's operational plan sets out where there needs to be more or fewer schools in Northern Ireland in future, based on their analysis of schools and pupils in the 11 council areas.

Therefore, it could also lead to schools being closed or merged in some areas where pupil numbers are falling.

For instance, the EA said that there was expected to be a fall in the number of primary-age children over the next decade, which would mean fewer primary schools are needed.

Some small rural schools have recently been earmarked for closure despite opposition from local communities.

The EA's plans were drawn up with input from other bodies like the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools (CCMS), Comhairle na Gaelscolaíochta (CnaG), the Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education (NICIE) and the Controlled Schools' Support Council (CSSC).