Four post-primary providers in the area – all in the Catholic maintained sector – are involved in a major consultation exercise.
It has been known for years that there are too many schools and not enough pupils in all parts of Northern Ireland.
The Council for Catholic Maintained Schools and Trustees – the owners of the schools – are working on area-based plans, which involve closures, amalgamations and, in some instances, expansions. A similar shake-up is being taken forward in north Belfast.
Meetings have now been held in four schools in the west of the city – two for boys and two for girls.
The plans are at an early stage although it is hoped the new arrangements will be in place by 2018.
If a plan is approved, St Louise’s Comprehensive College, which was once the largest all-girls school in Europe, will begin to admit boys throughout the school. It has, in the past, admitted some boys in its sixth form.
Elsewhere, it is being proposed that three schools – Corpus Christi, St Rose’s and Christian Brothers School (CBS) – come together and create a single 1,500-pupil college.
Corpus Christi admitted just 15 new year 8 pupils this year while CBS and St Rose’s welcomed 67 and 18.
There were about 1,150 pupils in the three schools combined last year and numbers have been falling at each since 2010.
Another two secondary providers will be unaffected by the changes, while none of the area’s grammar schools plan to end 11-plus testing.
CBS has been through an area-based planning consultation once already in recent years.
In 2014, it was proposed that it and St Mary’s Christian Brothers’ Grammar School create a single 11 to 19 non-selective, post-primary. This was abandoned, however, when St Mary’s withdrew.