§ Lord Kilclooneyasked Her Majesty's Government:
What restrictions there are on enrolment at the Royal School, Armagh; how the number of boarders at this school impacts upon total enrolment; and whether an increase in the number of boarders at the school means that there must be a restriction on the number of day pupils at the school. [HL962]
§ Lord Williams of MostynThe Department of Education (Northern Ireland) has approved admission and enrolment numbers of 100 and 650 respectively for the Royal School, Armagh, lit is a matter for the school to determine the number of places it sets aside for boarders within these approved numbers subject to the provisions of the Secondary School (Admissions Criteria) Regulations (NI)) 1997. These permit a school with a boarding department to give priority to boarding pupils without regard to transfer procedure grades but only to the extent of not exceeding the number of pupils enrolled in a school's boarding department on 21 September 1990 or 2 October 1997, whichever is the greater. Any increase in the number of boarders will restrict the number of day pupils at the school.