Orangefield High School in Belfast has struggled with low pupil numbers and poor exam results for years. Belfast Education and Library Board (BELB) is consulting on a proposal to shut the school, where singer Van Morrison was educated.
The closure, however, now looks like it will be delayed for 12 months because the BELB is yet to sort out where displaced pupils will transfer.
The Board wants to increase enrolment at both Ashfield Girls’ and Boys’ schools, also in east Belfast, but there will still not be enough space to take all Orangefield’s pupils.
Orangefield High has battled with low numbers for years. Its first year admissions cap has even been reduced from 145 to 100, although just 20 new pupils joined last September. At the start of the 2012/13 school year, it was filling just 250 of its available 548 desks.
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