Donegal sees decrease in preliminary enrolment numbers

Preliminary enrolment numbers in Primary and Post-primary schools in Donegal is down 0.5%.
A report from the Department of Education shows that overall, more post-primary schools lost than gained pupils, with 11 schools seeing a decrease of 5 or more pupils, while 10 schools saw an increase of 5 or more.
The average post-primary school size in Donegal is 482, below the national average of 503.
Education Minister Joe McHugh says the latest figures reflect the important changes taking place in the patronage of schools, with more choice available to parents.
The total number of pupils enrolled for the 2018/2019 school year in both primary and post-primary schools in Donegal rose to 31,863, an increase of 90.
Total enrolments in Donegal primary schools fell 0.1% last year.
Enrolments in multi-denominational primary schools in the county increased by 25.5%and decreased by 0.4% in Catholic schools.
Overall in Donegal more primary schools lost than gained pupils.
The report shows that Donegal had a higher proportion of small schools than average, with 41.4% of schools having 60 pupils or fewer.
At post-primary level, 13,023 pupils were enrolled in Donegal schools in September 2018, up on September 2017.
Enrolment in multi-denominational post-primary schools increased by 1.7%, Catholic schools enrolments decreased by 0.7% and enrolments in Church of Ireland schools stood at 562.