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Enrolments at grant-aided schools 2012/13: basic statistics

The purpose of this statistical release is to present basic enrolment figures for schools and for children in funded pre-school education for 2012/13.
~ Wednesday, 12 December 2012

The data are taken from the school enrolments census, which was conducted in October 2012. Data collected through the school census exercise are used to inform Departmental policy development, implementation and evaluation.

This first release of the basic statistics contains information which is used in the process to allocate funding to schools. A further statistical release, containing a more detailed set of tables, will be published in February 2013.

Key Points

  • The total number of pupils in schools in October 2012 was 325,095, a slight increase on the 322,891 pupils recorded in 2011.
  • The number of children in funded pre-school education; reception classes, nursery schools and units, or voluntary and private pre-school centres, was 23,515, an increase of over 300 from 2011 and an increase of almost 2,200 since 2008.
  • The number of pupils in compulsory primary school education (Year 1 – 7) was 158,914, a rise of over 3,200 since 2011. This continues the reversal of the downward trend seen for almost the last two decades, until 2011 and brings enrolments back above the level reported in 2007.
  • The number of pupils in post-primary schools was 145,658. This is a decrease of almost 1,100 since 2011, and is most marked in the non-grammar sector. However, this overall decline in post-primary pupils masks an increase of over 500 post-Year 12 pupils. This continues a trend seen in recent years, where the number and proportion of pupils continuing into Year 13 in schools has been increasing.
  • The numbers of schools continues to decrease. In October 2012, there were 832 primary schools, a decrease of 24 since October 2008. The number of post-primary schools was 215, compared to 223 in 2008.
  • The percentage of children in schools entitled to free school meals increased from 23% in 2011/12 to 25% in 2012/13, a continuation of the upward trend which began in 2009/10, after a number of years in which the rate declined. The increase applied across both primary and post-primary sectors, though was more marked in the primary sector following a change in eligibility criteria in this sector from 2010/11 onwards.

Full details of this National Statistics publication can be found on the DE website.