Introduction

• This leaflet sets out the law relating to admission to post primary education in Northern Ireland.
• ‘Post primary education’ means grammar schools and secondary schools.
• The rules are different depending on whether you are applying to a grammar or to a secondary school.
• The rules are also different depending on whether you are applying for admission at the start of Year 8 or some time later.


Admission to post primary at the start of Year 8

The Transfer procedure

• All pupils in Year 7 will be thinking about what school they will be going to in Year 8. Some pupils take the Transfer Test (11+). This happens in October/November of Year 7. These pupils may apply to grammar schools.
• Principals in primary schools will complete Transfer Report Forms for all Year 7 pupils in February of Year 7. This form will include a list of schools you would hope to go to in Year 8. Your parents/carers will complete this form with the primary school principal on your behalf.

Admission to grammar schools at the start of Year 8

• Most grammar schools have more pupils applying than they are able to admit. This is because they are only allowed by the Department of Education to admit a certain number of pupils. The Board of Governors of each grammar school therefore has to decide which Year 7 pupils to offer places to.
• In order to do this, every grammar school must have an Admissions Policy. These policies are all set out in a booklet called ‘Transfer from Primary to Secondary Education – A Guide for Parents’. Each Education and Library Board publishes this booklet every year and sends it to all parents/carers of Year 7 pupils in their area before the Transfer Report Form must be completed.
• The first thing that the Board of Governors of a grammar school will consider, under their Admissions Policy, is how each pupil has performed in the Transfer Test (11+). All grammar schools start by admitting pupils with a grade A, followed by a B1, B2, C1,C2 and a grade D, in order of preference.
• When there are more pupils with the same grade than there are places available, it is only then that a grammar school will apply additional criteria in the order that they are listed in the school Admission Policy. If you satisfy the additional criteria you are more likely to be awarded a place at the grammar school. For example: if you have attended a certain primary school; if you have a brother or sister at the school; if your parents teach at the school or you have other family connections with the school.
• A small number of grammar schools in Northern Ireland retain fee-paying boarding placements. Relevant criteria to for admission to these placements are outlined in the Education and Library Board’s guidance booklet for parents.

Children who do not have to sit the Transfer Test

(1) Pupils who have a statement of special educational needs;
(2) Children whose parents wish them to transfer to grammar schools from schools outside Northern Ireland;
(3) Children who have had more than half of their primary education outside Northern Ireland.

In all of these cases, an assessment will be carried out by the Education and Library Board. It is this assessment that will be taken into account by the Board of Governors of any school which you apply to.

Supplementary Test

• A primary school principal may offer your parents/carers the option for you to sit a supplementary test in the following circumstances:
o If you miss one or both test papers
o If you feel that your performance in either or both papers was affected by illness, a disturbance during the test or any other reason.
If your parents opt for you to sit the supplementary test, your original test will not count and a grade will be awarded for the supplementary test. It will be this grade which will be taken into account by any grammar school that you apply to.

Special Circumstances

• After you have received your 11+ test results, if your parents/carers feel that your grade in the 11+ has been affected by an illness that you were suffering, a family bereavement or any other reason, then they may ask the Board of Governors of the grammar school to consider these ‘special circumstances’.
• Your parents/carers must provide full details of these special circumstances at the time of completion of the Transfer Report Form.
• It is important that your parents provide as much proof as possible to show that you should have received a higher grade. This may include medical reports, teacher’s comments and test results from throughout Year 6 & 7 in 11+ practice tests. (Results from your Key Stage 2 tests cannot be considered under special circumstances). This information will be forwarded, together with the Transfer Report Form to the Board of Governors of any grammar school to which you apply. If they agree that your performance was affected and that you should have got a higher grade, they can award a higher grade and consider your admission application on the basis of this new grade.
• Some grammar schools require specific information with the Transfer Report Form. These schools are listed in the Education and Library Board’s guidance booklet for parents.

Admission to secondary schools at the start of Year 8 (i.e. in September)

• Secondary schools are not allowed to refer to ability or aptitude in their admissions criteria. This means that they do not take account of 11+ results when admitting pupils to Year 8.
• Some schools in Northern Ireland have both grammar and secondary school streams in Year 8. Grammar stream places are allocated in the same way as grammar school places (see above).
• A secondary school must admit all pupils who apply if they have places available. Some secondary schools will have more pupils applying than there are places available. In these circumstances, secondary schools will select pupils on the basis of the criteria published in their Admissions Policy. For example: if you have attended a certain primary school; if you live near the school, if you have a brother or sister at the school; if your parents teach at the school or you have other family connections with the school.

Admission at any time after the start of Year 8

Secondary Schools

• All pupils applying to a school during the course of Year 8 (i.e. after September) must be offered a place if there is a place available.
• A pupil applying to a school after Year 8 must also be offered a place if there is a place available, unless the admission of the pupil ‘would prejudice the efficient use of resources’ by the school. An example of this may be where there are places available at the school, however there are no places available in the year group applied to.

Grammar Schools

• During Year 8 (i.e. after September) and after Year 8 a grammar school must admit a pupil if there are places available unless ‘the academic ability of the child is not of a standard equivalent to that of the pupils with whom he or she would be taught at the school’.
• After Year 8, a grammar school may also refuse to admit a pupil on the grounds that the admission of the pupil ‘would prejudice the efficient use of resources’ by the school.


Appeals

• An appeal against a decision refusing to admit a child to Year 8 can be made to the Admissions Appeal Tribunal.
• The Tribunal can only consider appeals where it is argued that the Board of Governors failed to apply their admissions criteria properly.
• In or around May, you will receive a letter confirming which school you have been accepted by. Your parents are entitled to appeal this decision and must send a letter to the Education and Library Board within 10 days of receipt of this letter notifying the Board that they wish to appeal. This letter should be sent by recorded delivery.
• The Education and Library Board will send out appeal forms for completion by your parents/carers. The forms should be completed giving reasons for appeal. The school are then given an opportunity to reply. An appeal date is set for the Admissions Appeal Tribunal and your parents/carers will be informed by the board of the date of hearing.
• The Tribunal may only consider the way in which the Board of Governors applied their admissions criteria. It will not be able to consider whether the criteria are unlawful or unreasonable .
• If your appeal is successful, the Tribunal will direct the school to which you applied to admit you as a pupil. The school must follow the Tribunal’s direction.
• If your appeal is unsuccessful, it may be possible to apply for a judicial review of the Tribunal’s decision to the High Court. You should seek immediate legal advice in relation to an appeal as strict time limits apply.


If you are having problems with your admission to a post primary school and you would like more advice contact the Children’s Law Centre. Our details are on the back of this leaflet.


Useful Numbers

Education & Library Boards

Belfast 028 90 564000
North-Eastern 028 25 653333
South-Eastern 028 90 566200
Southern 028 37 512200
Western 028 82 411411


Council for Catholic Maintained Schools, Diocesan Offices

Armagh 028 87 752116
Clogher 028 66 322709
Derry 028 71 261931
Down & Connor 028 90 327875
Dromore 028 30 262423
Children’s Law Centre
3rd Floor, Philip House
123 – 137 York Street
Belfast
BT15 1AB
Tel: 028 90 245704
Fax: 028 90 245679
Email: info@childrenslawcentre.org
www.childrenslawcentre.org

CHALKY Freephone Helpline 0808 808 5678
CHALKY Freepost ‘CHALKY’ BEL3837
Belfast BT15 1AB
Email: chalky@childrenslawcentre.org