AQW 24148/22-27


Mr Gary Middleton
Democratic Unionist Party
Foyle


Tabled Date: 11/03/2025
Answered On Date: 24/03/2025
Priority Written: No


Question:
To ask the Minister of Education to detail the enrolment figures for the 2024-25 academic year for each school in the Foyle constituency, compared to the school places available for each school.


Answer:
The available places in each nursery school, nursery unit, primary school and post primary school located in the Foyle Assembly Area (2008) can be found in the tables below. The actual enrolment figures for primary schools include reception pupils and years one to seven. Post primary enrolment includes all year groups.
Nursery schools located in the Foyle Assembly Area 2024/25
School Name
Approved enrolment
Actual enrolment
Supernumerary pupils
Available places
Belmont Nursery School
52
57
5
0
Bligh's Lane Nursery School
52
55
*
!
Carnhill Nursery School
52
52
*
!
Galliagh Nursery School
52
53
*
!
Lisnagelvin Nursery School
78
80
*
!
Strathfoyle Nursery School
52
52
*
!
The Academy Nursery School
52
52
*
!
Trench Road Nursery School
52
54
*
!
Nursery units located in the Foyle Assembly Area 2024/25
School Name
Approved enrolment
Actual enrolment
Supernumerary pupils
Available places
Ashlea Primary School
26
26
*
!
Bunscoil Cholmcille
26
27
*
!
Ebrington Primary School
52
60
*
!
Eglinton Primary School
26
26
0
0
Fountain Primary School
26
25
0
1
Gaelscoil Eadain Mhoir
26
26
*
!
Gaelscoil na Daroige
26
17
0
9
Glendermott Primary School
26
25
*
!
Good Shepherd Primary & Nursery School
52
52
0
0
Greenhaw Primary School
52
52
*
!
Hollybush Primary School
52
53
*
!
Holy Child Primary School
52
55
*
!
Holy Family PS
52
55
*
!
L'Derry Model Primary School
26
27
*
!
Longtower Primary School
26
26
*
!
Nazareth House Primary School
26
26
0
0
Newbuildings Primary School
26
26
0
0
Oakgrove Integrated P S
52
52
*
!
Rosemount Primary School
52
52
0
0
St Brigid's P.S.& Nursery Unit
26
28
*
!
St Eugene's Primary School
26
26
0
0
St.Paul's Primary School
26
26
0
0
Steelstown Primary School
26
29
*
!
Primary schools located in the Foyle Assembly Area 2024/25
School Name
Approved enrolment
Actual enrolment
Supernumerary pupils
Available places
Ashlea Primary, Tullyally
140
68
10
82
Ballougry Primary School
84
36
*
!
Broadbridge Primary School, Eglinton
398
403
14
9
Bunscoil Cholmcille, Derry
140
128
*
!
Chapel Road Primary School, Londonderry
210
184
22
48
Culmore Primary School
95
58
*
!
Drumahoe Primary School
290
277
17
30
Ebrington Primary School
406
406
23
23
Eglinton Primary School
232
177
10
65
Fountain Primary School, Londonderry
141
54
5
92
Gaelscoil Eadain Mhoir, Derry
182
157
9
34
Gaelscoil Na Daroige, Derry
130
118
10
22
Glendermott Primary School
197
176
8
29
Good Shepherd Primary School, Derry
408
390
11
29
Greenhaw Primary School
254
267
25
12
Hollybush Primary School, Culmore
396
378
14
32
Holy Child Primary School, Derry
287
305
22
4
Holy Family Primary School, Derry
640
453
35
222
Lisnagelvin Primary School
581
557
47
71
Londonderry Model Primary School
260
260
32
32
Longtower Primary School
420
250
32
202
Nazareth House Primary School
252
183
12
81
Newbuildings Primary School
210
145
9
74
Oakgrove Integrated Primary School
400
374
35
61
Rosemount Primary School
523
323
22
222
Sacred Heart Primary School, Trench Road
553
424
21
150
St Anne's Primary School, Londonderry
630
293
17
354
St Brigid's Primary School, Carnhill
420
374
60
106
St Columba's Primary School, Newbuildings
175
41
*
!
St Eithne's Primary School, Londonderry
420
308
22
134
St Eugene's Primary School, Derry
210
174
21
57
St John's Primary School, Bligh's Lane
630
383
20
267
St Oliver Plunkett Primary School, Strathfoyle
273
178
20
115
St Patrick's Primary School, Pennyburn
930
666
19
283
St Paul's Primary School, Slievemore
210
190
20
40
St Therese Primary School, Lenamore
420
310
25
135
Steelstown Primary School, Londonderry
420
451
50
19
Post primary schools located in the Foyle Assembly Area 2024/25
School Name
Enrolment
Available Places
Enrolment
Available Places
Foyle College
850
887
34
0
Lisneal College, Londonderry
960
1198
140
0
Lumen Christi College, Derry
840
856
23
7
Oakgrove Integrated College
800
573
56
283
St Brigid's College, Carnhill
720
875
187
32
St Cecilia's College, Derry
825
860
60
25
St Columb's College, Derry
1540
1301
32
271
St Joseph's Boys' School, Creggan
850
688
122
284
St Mary's College, Londonderry
825
857
41
9
Thornhill College, Derry
1410
1391
17
36
Source: Annual School Census
* denotes figure fewer than 5
! Denotes figures suppressed to avoid possible identification of individuals through calculations
Notes
1. Number of available places calculation: Reflects the total number of places available in all schools from an admissions perspective. It is calculated by subtracting the actual enrolment (less supernumerary pupils) from the approved enrolment for each school. If a school is operating at over-capacity then the number of available places is taken to be zero, rather than as a negative number.
- The available places figure does not take account schools which are oversubscribed by way of a temporary variation granted by the Department of Education.
2. Approved Enrolment - the number set annually by the Department which schools must not exceed without prior approval from the Department by way of a Temporary Variation. Supernumerary admissions lie outside the competitive admissions process and are therefore not subject to approved enrolment limits. Approved enrolment numbers are not set for preparatory departments, as open enrolment legislation does not apply to preparatory departments of grammar schools.
3. Actual enrolments - counts all pupils enrolled in the school on Census day, including admissions classified as supernumerary and admissions resulting from an approved temporary variation i.e. The Friday of the first full week in October (In 2024/25 this was 11 October 2024)
4. Supernumerary admissions – can take one of three different forms:
- Pupils can be admitted to a school based on the content of a Statement of Special Educational Needs which names a particular school that must then admit the child;
- Pupils can be admitted to a school (post-primary only) following a successful appeal to an independent Exceptional Circumstances Body (ECB) which rules on parental appeals citing exceptional circumstances that require the admission of a child to a particular school. This appeal route can only be used following an unsuccessful application to that school through the competitive (open enrolment) admissions processes;
- Pupils can be admitted to a school following a successful appeal to an independent Admissions Appeal Tribunal, where a parent asserts that a school has failed to correctly apply its admissions criteria as part of the competitive (open enrolment) admissions processes.
(*Pupils admitted to a school based on the content of a Statement of Special Educational Needs are classified as supernumerary admissions for the entire duration of their time at school whereas pupils admitted as a result of a successful admissions appeal or a direction of the ECB are classified as supernumerary admissions during the year of admission only. All of these pupils can be admitted above a school’s approved enrolment number without the requirement for a Temporary Variation).
5. Available Places – denotes the number of places available in a school that can be applied for through the competitive admissions process. As schools have approved admissions numbers, limiting the number of children they can admit in their first year grouping, it is possible that a school with available places may have no places available in this year group.
- As a school’s enrolment number is set taking a number of factors into account, and may or may not closely reflect the physical capacity of a particular school, the available places figure cannot be used to equate to the number of ‘empty desks’ or ‘spare capacity’ in the system.