Multi-faith schools eye move towards second-level

THE interdenominational schools group Educate Together plans to open second-level schools for the first time within two or three years to cater for the thousands of pupils being taught in its primary schools.

The first school is likely to open in Lucan, Co Dublin, where it already has four 16-classroom schools, which will soon have about 250 children looking for second level places each year. It is also likely to seek clearance for new schools in north and west Dublin, in Cork where plans are being made for a number of new Educate Together primary schools, and in Galway, where there is a limited choice of mixed gender second level schools.

Educate Together now has 44 primary schools under its umbrella, with an extra 1,000 pupils being taught in its new schools each year. It is expected to open about a dozen new schools next September alone to cater for demand, particularly in fast-growing urban areas, bringing its pupil numbers close to 10,000.