DOZENS of extra places are being sought in a Catholic primary school to meet increasing demand.
A proposal has been published to allow St Ita's PS in south Belfast to admit 56 more pupils.
It is the latest plan aimed at tackling a shortage of spaces in Catholic schools in the area.
Close to 80 children in the last three years are known to have missed out on P1 places at two schools in the parish Drumbo and Carryduff.
And in south Belfast, St Bernard's PS has also had to turn away close to 50 children in a three-year period.
Dozens more were turned away this year and frustrated parents came together to put pressure on the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools (CCMS).
The two Carryduff parish schools - St Ita's and St Joseph's - are oversubscribed every year. St Bernard's is also oversubscribed, although was allowed to take extra pupils in 2015, when it received 87 applications for 60 places, and again in 2016.
CCMS responded by allowing St Bernard's to admit 24 extra pupils this year and St Joseph's an additional eight. It added that it was looking at a longer-term plan for the area adding that the situation was continually being kept under review.
It has now submitted a development proposal on behalf of the trustees of the parish of Carryduff, to allow St Ita's to increase admissions in each year group from 82 to 90 and its overall enrolment number from 574 to 630, from September 1 2018.
St Ita's is one of the newest Catholic schools in the north, having opened in September 2005. Its creation was regarded as something of a rarity - a new school in an established area is still something that happens infrequently.
CCMS launched the St Ita's project because St Joseph's, which opened in 1955, could no longer meet the demand for Catholic education in the area. St Joseph's witnessed a massive increase in pupils from the mid-1990s.
"Demand for primary school places in the area has risen consistently over the past number of years. It is anticipated that this pattern will continue," CCMS said in its `case for change' document supporting the expansion bid.
"The reason for change is the increasing and sustained demand for primary school places in the area. Enrolments in neighbouring schools and projected future demand indicate the need for additional primary school places in the area."
