§ Mr. William RossTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in how many schools at each level Irish is presently taught to a majority of the pupils at some stage in their education in that school; how many children have achieved a pass in Irish at(a) GCSE, (b) 0-level and (c) A-level, in each of the last five years; what is the percentage of schools at each level offering Irish as a subject; how many of the schools offering Irish are (i) voluntary, (ii) controlled, (iii) maintained and (iv) integrated; and what is the percentage offering Irish in each of these categories.
§ Mr. HanleyNo information is available centrally on the number of primary schools which teach Irish.
246WThe latest available information on the teaching of Irish at post-primary level relates to a survey conducted in respect of the 1988–89 academic year, based on a 10 per cent. sample of pupils.
That survey identified 92 schools in which Irish is taught. All are voluntary schools of which 29 are voluntary grammar schools and 63 are voluntary maintained secondary schools. These figures represent 50 per cent. and 79 per cent. respectively of the total number of schools in these categories. It is probable, however, that there are other schools in which Irish is taught, but which were not identified in the sample used in the survey.
The number of pupils who have obtained a pass in Irish at GCSE and A-level in each of the last five years is as follows:—
GCSE A level GRADE A-C D-G A-E 1988 1,046 469 203 1989 1,133 486 183 1990 955 436 229 1991 959 462 214 1992 1,037 504 270 1987 was the last year of NI GCE 'O' level examinations.