GRAMMAR schools do not have to use entrance exams - it's just that most do.
There is zero requirement on any post-primary to use academically-selective admissions criteria.
It is clear that test scores make the job of choosing pupils an awful lot easier for oversubscribed schools.
But they can cope without exams and many already do.
In the last decade or so, a handful - all of them Catholic schools - have ended the practice.
St Patrick's in Armagh and St Ronan's in Lurgan use non-academic criteria only.
St Louis' in Kilkeel moved to `bilateral', where 40 per cent of places are awarded based on entrance tests and 60 per cent reserved for children living in Lower and Upper Mourne.
So, how do they decide which children to admit without a test score or grade? The same as any other school - by using criteria including geography and family.
The Newry and Kilkeel schools, in suspending selection for a year, gave some indication of how this will work.
Aside from some minor amendments at an individual school level, their criteria for the 2021/22 academic year "will largely be based on each school's sub-criteria".
This is what they already use for tie-breaking when oversubscribed. And these vary only slightly from school to school.
There is no guarantee that what any school had in place for its 2020 admissions will be the same in 2021, however.
The four Newry schools' sub-criteria for 2020/21 were almost identical, only the order differed.
The top tie-breaker was pupils who, at the date of their application, had a parent/guardian who was a member of the permanent teaching, administrative, or ancillary staff.
They then all looked at children who had family members currently at the school before moving on to those who had brothers or sisters who previously attended. There were a few more sub categories in addition.
In Enniskillen, Mount Lourdes only had three sub-criteria for this year, looking first at those with sisters at the school. Its final criterion was based on the age of the applicant, with eldest admitted first. This contrasted with the two Newry boys' schools whose final criterion was also based on age - but with the youngest admitted first.
At St Michael's, preference was given to children whose parents were staff. If there were more such applicants than places available, then they were ranked by age, the oldest boy being ranked first.
Without tests, schools don't need to, and likely won't, worry about how they will fill their places.
Final criteria will be published for 2021 entry later this year.
