Belfast Consolidated is a school slated for closure four years ago and it was struggling with dwindling enrolment for a long now. Now though, the school has managed to welcome its largest kindergarten class in at least a decade.
The school, located in southeastern Queens County, was recommended for closure four years ago due to its low number of students. At that time, the school had less than 100 students.
Right now, Belfast Consolidated has 132 students. More are expected to come next fall, and twenty are registered for kindergarten in September.
The school Principal John Munro said:
“It’s good news for our school. The number of students that we’ve picked up with families moving in, I wouldn’t have anticipated.”
The P.E.I.’s population has increased over the last few years, and local schools, Belfast Consolidated included, have felt that. According to the Public Schools Branch, the enrolment in the 56 public English schools rose by almost 400 students to 19,543. The six French schools added 236 for an overall enrolment of 1,099.
Besides locals, Belfast Consolidated has welcomed students from Asia and Africa as well.
Munro added:
“It adds to the life of our school and the culture of our school, to have people coming from India, South Africa, and from larger cities, and how quickly these students blend in with our students. Our community has a lot to offer here. We have a strong community with lots of volunteers. We have lots of recreational opportunities with the rink and the golf course, the school gymnasium for adult sports. We have playgrounds, daycare … and our churches are strong, as well. I just feel it’s like everybody’s benefiting from this change at the school.”
