ALMOST 14,000 UKRAINIAN children and teenagers have enrolled in Irish schools since the start of Russian invasion of their homeland.

New figures from the Department of Education show that 13,753 Ukrainian pupils have joined schools here in recent months – 8,823 in primary education and 4,930 in secondary schools.

It is almost double what the numbers stood at last May, when 6,797 Ukrainian pupils had joined Irish schools in the early weeks of the war. It represents an increase of 6,956 in the past seven months.

Dublin schools have seen the the most enrolments at 1,890 pupils and students in total. 

Kerry schools have taken in 1,373 students, while Cork-based schools have seen 1,354 enrolments across primary and secondary. Schools in Donegal have enrolled 1,157 Ukrainian students while Clare schools have taken in 1,052 students. 

Recent figures showed that more than 62,000 Ukrainian nationals were living in Ireland in late 2022, according to the Central Statistics Office.

A statement from the department said that to assist with the transition of Ukrainian students and their families into Irish schools, Regional Education and Language Teams (REALT) continue to work and are hosted by the 16 regional education and training boards around Ireland. These are staffed by regionally-based education support personnel.

“These teams are ensuring that clear, accessible information flows are in place between schools, local education support services and national support structures in relation to people arriving from Ukraine,” the department’s statement said.

Information for parents in Ukrainian and Russian on accessing school places is available on gov.ie/Ukraine.