Three quarters of respondents in the Lisburn and Castlereagh area agreed that Integrated Education should be the main model for our education system in Northern Ireland.

Polling was carried out by Belfast based independent polling and market research company LucidTalk, on behalf of the Integrated Education Fund (IEF). Over 2,500 full responses were collated, and the poll was balanced by gender, age-group, area of residence, and community background, to ensure it was demographically representative of Northern Ireland today.

The poll result indicates a clear majority of people living in the Lisburn and Castlereagh area, from different cultural traditions and backgrounds, support Integrated Education as the future of the education system. 75% of those polled in Lisburn and Castlereagh agreed that Integrated Education- which intentionally educate together children every day in the same classrooms, inclusive of different religions, gender, and race- should be the main model for our education system in Northern Ireland.

Pupils at Fort Hill Integrated Primary School, along with IEF Chair Peter Osborne, celebrate recent poll findings that 66% of people in Northern Ireland agree that Integrated Education should be the norm.

This support was not limited to Lisburn and Castlereagh, with one key finding of the poll that two thirds of the people across Northern Ireland agreeing that Integrated schools should be the main model for our education system.

Furthermore, 65% of those polled went so far to say that they would support their school transforming to Integrated status.

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Peter Osborne, Chair of Integrated Education Fund (IEF), who paid a visit to Fort Hill Integrated Primary School in Lisburn recently, commented: “Over the past 25 years we have seen interest, support and parental demand for Integrated Education continue to increase.

"The poll results highlight the support for Integrated Education from the people of Northern Ireland. Despite this support, many areas in Northern Ireland remain with limited or no Integrated options available to parents.

“Three out of four people living in Lisburn and Castlereagh have shown their support for Integrated Education by agreeing that it should be the norm in Northern Ireland in this poll.

"The IEF will continue to work to support parents and ensure adequate Integrated school places are available for all those who wish to have an Integrated Education in Lisburn and Castlereagh."

Poll shows 75% of people in Lisburn and Castlereagh support integrated education