Despite a [slightly] increased Catholic population, parents are walking away from segregated ed…

So, is this the real problem underlying the CCMS’s recent broadside against integrated education…

In 1981, there were 28 pupils in integrated education.

By 2000/2001, that figure had rocketed to 13,847.

  • A decade later, integrated schools were home to 20,535 pupils.
  • In the 2013/2014 school year, there were 21,206 pupils in integrated schools.
  • That means, between the turn of the millennium and June this year, integrated education increased its pupil numbers by 53%.

In comparison:

  • In 2000/2001, the Catholic maintained sector had 123,750 pupils.
  • A decade later, that figure had spiralled to 112,686.
  • In the 2013/2014 school year, that number was 114,222.

That means, between 2000/2001 and 2013/2014, the percentage of pupils attending Catholic maintained schools plummeted by 7.7%.

We are reader supported. Donate to keep Slugger lit!

For over 20 years, Slugger has been an independent place for debate and new ideas. We have published over 40,000 posts and over one and a half million comments on the site. Each month we have over 70,000 readers. All this we have accomplished with only volunteers we have never had any paid staff.

Slugger does not receive any funding, and we respect our readers, so we will never run intrusive ads or sponsored posts. Instead, we are reader-supported. Help us keep Slugger independent by becoming a friend of Slugger. While we run a tight ship and no one gets paid to write, we need money to help us cover our costs.

If you like what we do, we are asking you to consider giving a monthly donation of any amount, or you can give a one-off donation. Any amount is appreciated.