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‘Parental choice is an illusion’: the gap between integrated education demand and provision
['Allan Leonard', 'Mr Ulster']
Slugger O'Toole
Despite multiple surveys consistently showing majority public support for integrated education, only around 8% of pupils in Northern Ireland attend integrated schools.
Report launch and panel discussion event: “Parental Choice and Preference: Education in Northern Ireland”.
A LucidTalk poll in 2025 found 61% of Northern Ireland respondents said integrated schools should be the main education model.
The department’s own parental school admissions survey found over 31% preferred integrated education.
The responsibility for delivering integrated education has largely fallen to parents and to charity — and that’s not how you run an education system.”