Gaelscoil Éadain Mhóir hoping to boost school numbers as demand for places grows
January 23, 2017
An Irish school in Derry is seeking to increase the number of pupils it can accept after the demand for Primary 1 places has trebled over the past four years.
A public meeting was held at the Gaelscoil Éadain Mhóir Irish school last night, where it emerged that a draft development proposal will be submitted to the Department of Education in the coming weeks.
There are currently 147 pupils at the Lecky Road school, which is made up of 121 children at the primary school and 26 at the Naíscoil, which is the nursery school.
The proposal, if approved, will allow the school the school to increase the number of children it can accept into its Primary 1 classes, which it said is necessary to meet the demand.
Speaking at the meeting, the school’s principal, Mary Nic Ailín, said that boosting enrolment at the school was vital given that the demand for applications for Primary One places at the school had trebled over the past four years.
“The increase in demand for places in recent years shows the increasing growth of Irish medium education in the city,” she said.
“Children travel from all areas of the city and the Waterside to attend our school.
“Irish medium education is flourishing in the city and going from strength to strength, where we have children leaving our primary school with a GCSE and continuing on with languages at secondary and Third Level.
“We really feel that Irish medium education is opening doors for future generations.”
Ms Nic Ailín added that the school is also seeking to enhance its physical offering, with the hope being that it will be able to secure a new building.
“We’re currently working with the Gasyard Development Trust and the Urban Villages project, where we hope to enhance the space at the school, with the hope being that we can get a new build in the future.”
