Belcamp College has too few students to be viable - and a property developer wants the land. It means it's the end of the road for the Dublin institution. And many other schools may follow, writes John Downes.

Belcamp College is a school whose past confronts you as soon as you walk through its gates. Even though they are just off the busy Malahide Road, in Dublin, its listed buildings and lush green fields have a serenity that seems to hark back to a long-forgotten era. It will soon be shattered, however. The announcement that the college's trustees, the Oblate Fathers, are to close the school and sell its land to a developer was greeted with dismay by many of those associated with the college, past and present.

But what are the factors that have led to the demise of such a long-established college? And what does it tell us about the future of other schools of its kind? "For many many years, probably most of the time I'm here, we've been struggling for numbers," says Pat McVeigh, the school's principal. "What has happened over the last few years is that our numbers have stabilised at the 200 mark . . . . There's an overabundance of schools. We're all competing." Belcamp is losing money as a result, he says.

Schools currently receive a grant from the Department of Education and Science for each student. The problem is that when the population of a school decreases, as in Belcamp's case, it is left struggling to make up for the shortfall in funding that this causes. George O'Callaghan of the Joint Managerial Body, which represents most secondary schools, explains: "Even if you have a reduction in the numbers attending a school, you still have more or less the same heating, lighting and general maintenance costs. If your number drops below 200 you are really struggling. Schools are threatened by closure because they become reliant on the trustees to meet the shortfall. But they might have other commitments, and a lot of their assets could be tied up."

In Belcamp's case the Oblates were also persuaded to close the school by an offer for their valuable land from an unnamed property developer, whose security guard now sits at the front gates of the college. "Lands may be a factor in a small number of instances, particularly around large urban areas," says O'Callaghan. "They [religious orders] do have to make provision for their members getting older, for example, because they would have no pensions."

Belcamp seems to have done all it could to remain open. Ten years ago plans were put in place on the basis of projections made in a document called Belcamp: The Way Forward, which assumed an increase in numbers. The resultant income flow, it was believed, would make the school viable. Adopting a proactive approach that was soon copied by other schools in the area, representatives of Belcamp visited local fifth classes, produced booklets and generally tried to inform parents about the work of the school. In 1997 it also went co-educational. The projected increase in students failed to materialise, however.

One reason, according to McVeigh, is the school's location. Other local schools are in the heart of their communities; Belcamp is somewhat isolated. "Demographics would be another," he says. "When I started here, in '77, there were kids being bused in here from Kilmore and further than that, because there were no schools for these kids to go to. At the time the population was there. At the moment there's a bit of a valley period. Most schools around here have excess capacity."

But the decision to close the school perhaps hides a deeper, albeit more subtle truth. Figures released by the Department of Education and Science last year revealed that hundreds of places were still available in free-education schools in the Dublin area, with 13,000 unfilled school places on the northside alone.

Although changing demographics are an important factor, fee-paying schools have seen their numbers surge, despite the shift in the youth population.

Belcamp's students sometimes come from disadvantaged backgrounds, says McVeigh. Indeed, this is what makes the school so special, he believes, as it caters to children who otherwise might have slipped through the net. "We've had great kids here. We've had kids whose parents mightn't have had a brilliant education, and they have done very, very well for themselves," he says.

"It is a good social mix. We had a regular intake every year from the Kinsealy, Swords and Malahide area . . . . That's one of the big things about this place. There's a minority of our kids who are in small classes who require close attention."

The part of north Dublin that Belcamp serves has also witnessed significant housing development in recent years. Given this, the fact that the school has not received more pupils from these well-to-do new homes seems at the very least puzzling. Although McVeigh never articulates such views, there is a suspicion that, when faced with a choice of schools, parents from the new developments have chosen not to enrol their children at Belcamp.

Tommy Broughan, a local TD, also points out that many of those in the newer housing developments are couples with young children. As they grow older they will be looking to send their children to a good secondary school. Whether this would have been Belcamp, however, with its commitment to helping students drawn from the community it serves, is another matter.

According to O'Callaghan, then, unless something is done, the chances of small schools such as Belcamp surviving are slim.One of simplest measures to take, he says, would be for the Department of Education and Science to pass on to small schools the savings it makes as a result of the fall in school numbers. Others, including the authors of the influential Blackstock report, have called for extra provision to be made for smaller schools, in order to safeguard their future.

"Really, the closure of Belcamp is a sign of the times," says O'Callaghan. "There are a number of schools under pressure currently where the patrons are looking at closing. We'll see more of this, given the state of the finances. Their income is fixed, their costs are rising and their numbers are falling."

These are all questions for the future. For now McVeigh's major concern is for the students already enrolled in the school. According to the Oblates, Belcamp will close gradually over the next six years.He would like, he says, to see the atmosphere of the school - and the small classes, which mean teachers can give individual attention to students who need it - retained in any future school.

"Our present bunch, we'd be greatly concerned about some of them, because we're a small school and they get very, very close attention because of the small classes. Some of our kids in a larger school would have difficulty surviving . . . . A lot of the kids are very upset that this is going to happen. I'm staying here with these kids until the last one of them leaves. And I'll have many, many very fond memories of the place."

FACTFILE:

Established in 1893 as a juniorate for the Oblate Fathers.

Originally a boarding school, it became well known for its sporting achievements, particularly in Gaelic football.

A new wing was built in 1953, allowing the school to increase its intake to approximately 200 boarders.

In 1970 a purpose-built secondary school was established, and Belcamp became a full-time day school.

The school went co-educational in 1997.

Some famous people associated with the college include Philip Walton, the golfer, Brendan Gleeson, the actor - a former teacher at the school - and Frank Cummins, the GAA star.