The largest annual increase in the number of integrated schools in Northern Ireland since the system's inception 23 years ago will be announced today.
Need to get away
Campaigners hailed the news as a "ground-breaking step" and said "gutsy parent power" was the reason behind the 14 per cent leap in the number of cross-denominational schools.
The seven new primary and secondary establishments, which will open on the first day of term next Wednesday, increase the number of Catholic and Protestant pupils in the sector to more than 17,000.
Supporters of integrated education say faith schools have entrenched religious division in the province, a claim rejected by Church leaders.
Mo Mowlam, the former secretary of state for Northern Ireland, said: "This is an incredible step forward for the people of Northern Ireland and indicates their desire for peace and reconciliation.
"The contribution of integrated education to society cannot be overstated. Children from different traditions and cultures playing and learning together is an essential part of securing a peaceful future."
Tina Merron, the Director of the Integrated Education Fund, will make the announcement in Belfast today. "We believe this is the beginning of a ripple effect across the province," she said.
"Northern Ireland is segregated in terms of religion, housing, sport and even the newspapers that people buy.
"Slowly but surely, people are starting to change their views. Integrated schools give children the opportunity that their parents did not have.
"In the past people from both traditions would have had to wait until university to mix. Now children from different traditions can learn they have no reason to fear and distrust each other."
Integrated schools account for only five per cent of the pupil population in Northern Ireland. However, a poll in 2003 found that more than 80 per cent of parents supported the integrated model.
The Integrated Education Fund says it intends to increase the number of children in the sector to 10 per cent by 2008.
Parents who support integrated education have formed a string of steering groups across the province. Jackie Nesbitt, 35, is sending her 11-year-old son Christopher to Armagh Integrated College, one of the new secondary schools being opened.
Mrs Nesbitt said: "What we have done is a massive leap of faith. The school was only given the go-ahead in February and until then we did not know if our son had a place.
"We also know that the school has no educational track record but parent power has made this happen. My husband canvassed in shopping centres to make other people aware of the benefits.
"What I do know now is that by the time my son reaches 18, and goes into the workplace, he will have an understanding of other cultures."
Donal Flanagan, the chief executive of the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools, said it was "nonsense" to suggest that faith schools had impeded reconciliation between both communities.
"People should not say that Catholic schools are part of the problem," he said. "They have got to be viewed as part of the solution. We are the largest in the school sector.
"We should move beyond the rhetoric and accept what Catholic schools do in terms of high academic standards, pastoral care and discipline.
"Catholic schools not only do well in Northern Ireland, but in Britain, too. I have not seen my own education as an impediment to developing relationships and respecting other people's viewpoints. Catholic schools do create a culture of tolerance and respect."