Cork school cannot accept more students due to 'maxed out' space

St Mary’s High School in Midleton has a waiting list of close to 70 students

St Marys High School principal Donnchadh Ó Briain: 'Our space here really is maxed out and we don’t know where we go next.' Picture: Dan Linehan

A seriously oversubscribed secondary school in Co Cork wants to accept more students in a bid to address a chronic lack of school places but cannot as its space is "maxed out". 

St Mary’s High School in Midleton says it wants to offer more school places this year but does not have space on its grounds to accept any more students, after exploring every possible option. 

Local school principals estimate 150 children in the area do not have a school place for September. 

The all-girls school, which has 750 students, has a waiting list of close to 70 students, of which 46 have applied to no other schools. St Mary's has appealed to the Department of Education to fund rented accommodation to allow it to offer more places but has warned it will only act as a short-term solution.

“There is a big problem, bigger than just this school, with school places in East Cork. This is a perennial issue,” said Donnchadh Ó Briain, the school's principal. 

St Mary's also wants to open a second ASD class to help address the shortage of places in Cork but cannot due to capacity issues.

The school is landlocked, and the only green space it has is on an undulating hill, deemed unsuitable for prefabs. 

“We were more than willing to look at prefabs if it was possible," said Mr Ó Briain.

“Our own space here really is maxed out and, at this point, we don’t know where we go next. Every year, we have applications looking for space in our ASD class and we cannot facilitate it. 

You have a situation here where the school, teachers, and the board are all willing to facilitate these students but we can’t because of space.”

The school also has an application with the department for a new school building but the department seems to be locked into a six-year cycle of building projects, he added. Over 3,000 houses are marked for development nearby. 

"With migration and development in the area, things are moving way faster than a six-year cycle," said Mr Ó Briain.

The only green space at the school is on an undulating hill, deemed unsuitable for prefabs. Picture: Dan Linehan

Families are understandably quite stressed about the situation, he added. 

"It's the start of April and they don’t know where their daughter is going to school in September." 

Under section 29 of the Education Act, parents have the right to appeal a school's decision to refuse to enrol their child, and St Mary's has received such appeals. 

“But the refusal here is to do with capacity, it's not to do with anything else. We find ourselves in a situation defending something that’s not of our making. We have a board of management who are willing to take all the students who want to come, we’re doing everything in our power to create the space for them. 

Then, you find yourself in this ironic situation where you are defending a system that is fatally flawed, in my opinion.”

A spokesman for the Department of Education said it is aware of the demand for additional school places in East Cork. 

"The department is engaging with all school authorities in East Cork, including St Mary’s High School, in relation to post-primary school places for September 2021 and all available options are being considered."