Almost 200 additional first-year secondary school places have been created in six towns around Ireland in order to ensure that increased demand for school places is met when schools reopen next month.
The move is designed to ensure that increased demand for school places is met and all students are accommodated.
In Greystones in Co Wicklow, an additional three first year streams have been created, to accommodate more than 70 children who were left with no post-primary school place.
One additional first year stream has been created in each of the towns of Celbridge and Maynooth in Co Kildare and Athenry, Co Galway.
A new stream has also been created in Fermoy, Co Cork where the new class group will meet demand specifically for school places for boys in the town.
Each new class group will cater for between 24 to 30 students. In Prosperous in Co Kildare, an additional nine first year places have been created in response to the shortage there.
The Department of Education sanctioned the additional places after data collated across schools in those areas indicated an overall shortage of school places there.
It said that across 314 enrolment areas nationally just a very small handful have come under pressure due to rising numbers. These tend to be areas where new housing development has led to a burgeoning young population.
In Greystones, the three additional classes will be in the Community College and will mean the school will enrol 168 First years this year compared to the 96 initially planned for.
The school is just five years old and is growing rapidly.
Principal Ruairi Farrell said the school had agreed to this even greater expansion this year "given the concern and anxiety of parents and children in the area" as a result of the local shortage.
Overall, after considerable growth in enrolment numbers at second level in recent years it appears that a demographic peak has been reached.
From next year the number of students enrolled at second level is expected to begin to decline.
First year enrolment figures are already falling - 71,494 students are expected to begin second level education next month, down from a peak intake of 75,202 last September.
Department of Education projections envisage a continued reduction in enrolment over the coming years, with first year intake falling by up to 900 places each year.
Primary school admission figures have been falling annually for several years now and are expected to reduce by a total 100,000 over the coming decade, according to the Department.
