Van Morrison's former high school site to become special school

Van Morrison performs on stage during a concert in Madrid in June

There are plans to create five new special school campuses across Belfast, including at Van Morrison's former high school in the east of the city.

That is according to a new Education Authority (EA) plan for 6,000 more places in special schools across Northern Ireland.

One of the new campuses - for 500 pupils - is planned for the former Orangefield High School but it is unlikely to be completed until 2032.

Dorothy Murray, from the parents organisation SEN Reform NI, has urged the executive "to work together and act now to make meaningful change on special educational needs (SEN)".

Dorothy Murray, from the parents organisation SEN Reform NI, urged the Northern Ireland Executive to act

"Parents often feel that their children with SEN are an afterthought in the education system: scrambling for school placements, lack of support and little input from health," she added.

Morrison attended Orangefield High School, which closed in 2014.

The rock star's former primary school Elmgrove, which is nearby, has also been earmarked to become a special school.

The EA said there was a need for up to 6,000 more special school places by 2032, and it has looked at the increase needed in each council area.

Currently, there are just under 7,500 pupils in Northern Ireland's 40 special schools.

But Education Minister, Paul Givan, has said that "our special schools have reached capacity".

He has appealed for the executive to provide £1.7bn of capital funding for special educational needs.

"This is a societal obligation, we all have children across our constituencies that require our support," he told the Good Morning Ulster programme.

"It's why one of nine commitments of the programme for government is SEN, we need to see the funding follow that collective commitment.

"We need more than words when it comes to addressing SEN."

Givan added the funding will also create 5,000 additional places for "mainstream" schools, on top of the 6,000 places for SEN.

Ema Cubitt welcomed the plan and the direction set out

The independent autism reviewer for Northern Ireland, Ema Cubitt, has urged the executive to deliver "meaningful change" for children with special educational needs.

"Whilst I welcome the publication of the plan and the direction set out by the minister today, this must be a whole executive effort to deliver what our children and young people not only need, but are entitled to," she told BBC News NI.

"It is the moral responsibility of the whole executive. It isn't just about children with SEN, it's about their families," she added.

"There are families who have had to give up work, who have mental health issues in relation to the stress of their child not being appropriately placed."

Ms Cubitt said that the issue is not solely about education.

"There is a dividend that will be paid into other areas such as health, communities and across the whole executive.

"This momentum must be grasped by the whole system, and I will continue to scrutinise progress and push for meaningful change."

What's in the special schools plan?

The plan for the former Orangefield High School site to be turned into a new special school campus is among a range of plans included in the EA plan for special schools.

There are also plans to expand a number of other special schools in Belfast to meet a need for more than 600 additional school places in the city.

That includes Cedar Lodge School in north Belfast.

The principal of Cedar Lodge School, Chris Murphy, told BBC News NI that the plan to expand the school was a "wonderful opportunity" and "much needed."

"We see the potential to expand as a school as an opportunity to serve the young people, especially in north Belfast, with complex special educational needs," he said.

"This is something as a school we've been striving for for a very long time, but have always been hindered by the building, by the resources that we have."

All other special schools in greater Belfast have been identified as requiring more places and new school buildings or classrooms.

But, according to the EA, there is a need for more special school places for pupils right across Northern Ireland.

Ardnashee Special School in Londonderry, whose new building only opened in April 2025, is expected to have about 600 pupils by 2032, which will require a new building on a second site in the city.

Other special schools like Arvalee in Omagh, on the site of the Strule campus, have been identified as needing additional classrooms to increase pupil numbers.

In recent years, some children with special educational needs have had to wait well into the summer to get a school place.

Some of their families have held a number of protests at Stormont to draw attention to their plight.