Rise in number of pupils attending Irish-medium primary schools

There has been a 20% rise in the number of pupils at Irish-medium primary schools in Belfast over the past five years, it has been claimed.

By Gemma Murray

Published 1st Dec 2020, 07:31 BST

According to the BBC there were a total of 1,633 pupils at Belfast’s 10 Irish-medium primaries in 2019/20, up from 1,362 in 2015/16.

The figures are contained in a revised proposal for Coláiste Feirste to increase its pupil numbers.

Coláiste Feirste is the only Irish-medium post-primary school in Belfast and one of only two in NI.

Education Minister Peter Weir has approved a proposal for the school to increase the number of pupils it admits every year from 100 to 150.

It would also gradually increase its overall pupil numbers to 910.

However, the move has had to be delayed by a year until September 2021.

That is because Coláiste Feirste needs at least six extra mobile classrooms as well as two more teaching staff to accommodate the rise in pupils.