Mr Patsy McGlone (Mid Ulster): To ask the Minister of Education to detail the number of children who have registered for education orchestras and ensembles supported by his Department in each of the last eight academic years, including the current academic year, broken down by Education Authority region.
Minister of Education: The Education Authority (EA), which holds operational responsibility for the Music Service, has provided the following data outlining pupil registration figures for the Orchestra, Band, and Ensemble programmes over the past eight years, broken down by legacy Education and Library Board (ELB) areas.
| 2018/19 | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 | 2025/26 | |
| Belfast | 882 | 859 | 132 | 577 | 619 | 588 | 525 | 529 |
| Western | 500 | 484 | 60 | 180 | 365 | 430 | 450 | 480 |
| North East | 591 | 593 | 65 | 308 | 528 | 498 | 503 | 458 |
| Southern | 484 | 551 | 461 | 270 | 380 | 477 | 463 | 458 |
| South East | 246 | 251 | 162 | 175 | 217 | 244 | 261 | 275 |
| Totals | 2703 | 2738 | 880 | 1510 | 2109 | 2237 | 2202 | 2200 |
ENDS
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