There are no shortage of Year 8 places in the greater Newry area.
That was the view of the Education Minister Paul Givan when he was questioned on what steps were being taken to address the current shortage of school admissions places in St. Paul’s High School in Bessbrook.
Only last month did the Newry and Armagh Sinn Féin MLA Liz Kimmins urge Mr Givan to increase admission numbers for the academic year 2025–26.
“I have many years’ experience of dealing with children who do not obtain a place at the school of their choice, but this year the numbers far exceed anything I have dealt with before,” said Ms Kimmins.
She added that he has been “inundated with calls from parents of children who are deeply upset to learn they have not secured a place in St Paul’s, Bessbrook, despite meeting the admissions criteria”.
SDLP MLA Justin McNulty tabled a question asking what Mr Givan and his department were going to do about the issue.
He also asked why “the spike in the birth rate in the area was not anticipated and factored into local area planning to ensure balanced sufficient capacity in local schools”.
However, Mr Givan appeared to give the question short shrift.
“Many schools across Northern Ireland are oversubscribed with applications every year and as no child can be guaranteed admission to a given school, it is not unusual for children to be placed at lower preference schools,” he said.
“Given the remaining availability of places in Newry, there is no current shortage of Year 8 places in the area.”
