An area plan proposes to create three new co-educational post-primary schools for north Belfast.
This involves merging two schools – one for boys and one for girls – while making two others co-ed.
Parents are unhappy, however, and hope to convince the North’s education minister John O’Dowd to reject the shake-up.
Their main concern is that the reorganisation as tabled will mean single-sex education will only be an option for those who pass the 11-plus and go to grammar school.
North Belfast has two grammar schools – Dominican College for girls and St Malachy’s for boys – and neither will take part in the area plan.
A group of parents of present and prospective pupils of Little Flower Girls’ School are the most active.
It and the neighbouring all-boys school St Patrick’s are to be “discontinued” with a view to facilitating the establishment of a new Catholic 11 to 19 co-educational post-primary school
The new school, which is likely to operate across a split site initially, will have an enrolment number of 1,300 including 325 sixth form places.
The period for objections ended last month and it is understood that more than 1,600 letters relating specifically to Little Flower were sent to the education authority.
Parents signed an agreed letter which objected to the proposal on numerous grounds. They say the right to choose a Catholic, single-sex education for children is being removed, “unless we use the unregulated testing system or avail of buses to schools in other parts of the city”.
They add that research has proven that co-ed schools can have an adverse impact on the learning of girls at ages 11 to 14.
In addition, they claim amalgamated split site schools experience a “dip” for a period of years after merging, “which is unfair and unacceptable for the education of our children”. A final decision is expected in the spring.