The growing demand for Irish-medium education has seen one Belfast school create its own dedicated hub for its newest pupils.
Coláiste Feirste, the only secondary-level Irish-medium school in the city, has just recently welcomed 186 new Year 8 students.
In a bid to cater for the increasing numbers, the school has this week opened a dedicated Year 8 hub in eight new mobile classrooms.
Principal Micheál Mac Giolla Ghunna said the creation of the facility comes amid the "lack of an over-arching strategy to facilitate the rapid growth of Irish-medium education" in Northern Ireland.
“Coláiste Feirste, and Irish-medium education in general, has been growing at a rapid rate in recent years as parents see the tremendous results it produces for young people, not only in terms of exam grades, but in developing confident and articulate young people well-prepared to thrive in a complex world," he said.
"In the absence of another IM post-primary school in Belfast so far, Coláiste Feirste has been managing the consequences of this growth in numbers for several years.
"In 2020, we finally had a development proposal approved by the Department of Education to increase our intake numbers from 100 to 150 pupils per year in order to give the department time to find a suitable site for a second IM post-primary school in north Belfast.
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"However, there has been no progress on that work and now the school is accepting 186 pupils this year."
Mr Mac Giolla Ghunna said it is "frustrating that Coláiste Feirste is left to manage the growth of a whole sector".
"We are working with the department to resolve accommodation and other issues such as teacher supply, curriculum resourcing and equitable access to qualifications," he said.
"Unfortunately, due to the lack of an over-arching strategy to facilitate the rapid growth of Irish-medium education, especially at post-primary phase, we are left managing our way out of crisis situations every year.
"However, we ensure that the quality of education and care we provide for our pupils is not compromised.
"Indeed, we are now going to use these eight new mobile classrooms to create a dedicated Year 8 provision and deliver a smoother transition to post-primary for our children.
"Here they will be kept separate from the hustle and bustle of the main school and will have a gentler introduction to post-primary education, enabling them to build their skills and confidence in preparation for Year 9.
"It is frustrating that Coláiste Feirste is left to manage the growth of a whole sector and it is likely that we will face similar challenges next year.
"Whatever the challenges, however, whatever the lack of strategy, resources or support, whatever the pressures on teachers, we will continue to deliver for our young people."
