Northern Ireland

Thousands of pupils to receive notification of post-primary school

Almost 24,000 children will be told the outcome of their application for a year 8 place via email
Almost 24,000 children will be told the outcome of their application for a year 8 place via email Almost 24,000 children will be told the outcome of their application for a year 8 place via email

THOUSANDS of P7 pupils will receive notification tomorrow confirming which post-primary school they will transfer to in September.

Almost 24,000 children will be told the outcome of their application for a Year 8 place via email.

The Education Authority (EA) said parents will receive notification of their child’s placement in the morning, but they can also still log in to the EA’s post-primary admissions portal to view their original application alongside the outcome.

Any parents who applied via a paper application and did not supply an email address, will be notified by post.

Children received the results of transfer tests for entrance to grammar schools after sitting the GL Assessment and/or the AQE (Association of Quality Education) tests in February.

More than 8,000 pupils sat AQE papers, while around 5,450 children took the GL Assessment, when the tests were held in November and December last year. They were the first transfer tests to be held for two years following cancellations in 2020/21 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Post-primary transfer tests are used to select pupils, aged 10 and 11, by the majority of grammar schools.

Pupils can choose to sit either the AQE or GL test, run by Post-Primary Transfer Consortium (PPTC), take both tests or decide not to take any.

Parents of all P7 children then applied for a post-primary school place on the EA online portal - the second year that post-primary applications have been processed in this way.

They will receive notification via an email tomorrow or by accessing the portal, which will also allow applications to the appeals process and supply additional school placement preferences, if required.

Frances Meehan, EA assistant director, said: "We appreciate the excitement and nervousness many families will be feeling in the lead up to Saturday and we are working hard to implement further improvements to ensure the process is as simple and efficient as possible.

"Our admissions team will be available on Saturday morning to provide support and advice to families via our dedicated helpdesk, which will be open from 9am – midday.

"It’s also important to reassure parents and carers of work underway to secure placements for children with a statement of special educational needs (SEN).

"This process is managed separately to ensure a suitable placement for each child to cater to their individual needs. Parents will be contacted directly by their SEN Link Officer with an update on their child’s school place by 10 June 2022."

The EA's admissions helpdesk can be contacted on postprimaryadmissions@eani.org.uk or by phoning 02895 985595.