Carrick post-primaries report rise in Year 8 uptake

At Carrickfergus College, numbers are up slightly on last year after the departure of a large Year 13 group. “We have 126 of an intake at the moment but final numbers may fluctuate; that’s up by about 20 on last year,” said principal Hedley Webb.

It was a similar story at Ulidia Integrated College, which will be taking on 90 new Year 8 students. “The number is up from 80 last year due to the school doing so well,” a spokesperson said.

Although figures were unavailable for the numbers starting at Downshire, principal Jacqueline Stewart confirmed the school would be welcoming an increased number of students in September.

Meanwhile, Carrickfergus Grammar was once again oversubscribed with 140 applications for 116 places. Principal Kieran Mulvenna said: “We will be doing our best to settle any butterflies in our Year 8 Induction Evening on June 26.”