A campaign is currently under way calling for unregulated transfer tests to be held in primary schools.
To date almost 6,000 people have supported a petition organised by mother of two Naomi McBurney, who says children should take the tests in a more familiar and comfortable environment.
The desire to ease some of the stress and anxiety felt by children aged just ten or eleven is perfectly understandable.
However, the problem is not so much where the examination takes place but the fact that pupils are having to go through a process that has been shown to be detrimental to the wellbeing of young children.
There are a number of flaws with the present system but focusing on the setting risks losing sight of the bigger and more fundamental concerns, such as why we continue to have a system that relies on academic selection at age eleven.
Under the previous, state-regulated exam process, P7 children sat the 11-plus papers in their own primary school which had prepared them for the tests.
Since 2008, when official involvement ended, we have had two systems of testing with pupils sitting up to five papers in designated centres, usually a grammar school.
In fairness, these schools have put measures in place to help the youngsters feel at ease, providing familiarisation days and keeping school groups together for the tests.
But the problem remains that parents who feel that a grammar school is the most suitable place for their child have no other choice but to put them through a series of exams whether they agree with the current system or not.
The Catholic Principals Association, which represents the leaders of more than 250 schools, has entered the debate on the test centre campaign.
In a letter to this newspaper, chairman Kieran O'Neill says the system is 'fractured and flawed' and simply moving tests to a different venue does not take away from the negative pressures felt by the children.
The education minister Peter Weir is a supporter of academic selection and has recently reaffirmed this position during assembly questions.
Even so, it is important we keep discussing this important issue and strive to ensure that the justified concerns over the current arrangements are fully aired.
