Kilbride Central School in video overcrowding appeal
A primary school in County Antrim has made a social media video to highlight their acute lack of classroom space for the growing number of pupils.
The canteen at Kilbride Central near Doagh is also the assembly hall, sports hall and P7 classroom.
The video has been made for the attention of the Department of Education and North Eastern Education Board.
The school is appealing for a new hall or an extension to ease its plight.
Teacher Julie West said every day around lunchtime is a logistics nightmare.
"Each day there's quite a lot of disruption, because it's not just a dinner hall at dinners, there's a lot of time required to set up for the dinners," she said.
"I would estimate that I would lose at least 30 minutes teaching time every day.
"But then we have to up sticks, move all the tables, chairs and go somewhere else in the school, but there isn't really anywhere else to go.
"There's been days when we've had to squeeze into the staffroom."
Rebecca McCrea and June McNeil are classroom assistants and lunchtime supervisors.
"It's very disruptive and it's very noisy actually," June said.
"You could have 70 or 80 children in this tiny little room."
Rebecca added: "They come back, the food's all over the floor, it's just not a very hygienic situation really.
"You shouldn't have to have food served in a classroom under any circumstances. It's supposed to be education in the 21st Century, it's ridiculous."
'No point griping'
The video was the idea of principal Christopher Currie.
"I came home at night to my wife griping about the situation," he said.
"She said 'there's no point griping or giving off to me about it, you have to tell people about it'.
"I decided there's only one way to do that, I'm going to show the North Eastern Board, I'm going to show the Department of Education and whoever is interested in looking at it, I'm going to show them how bad the situation actually is.
"Unless you work in the school on a daily basis, it's very easy to say we have a space shortage, but until you see it on the screen and you see it for real for yourself, it's not possible to imaging how bad it is."