A dozen schools have suspended entrance tests this year. For the overwhelming majority, it looks to be a case of business as usual. With parents and children seeking clarity,
The Irish News Education Correspondent Simon Doyle has been finding out more about what schools are planning
Grammar schools are standing firm in their plans to use entrance tests this winter – despite warnings children will be ill-prepared.
All public exams this summer were cancelled due to disruption caused to education by the Covid-19 lockdown.
However, the unregulated system of academic selection will mostly proceed, two weeks later than planned.
The two private groups that run the tests confirmed the delay amid calls for a cancellation.
Those calls have since grown more vociferous, especially when schools in Newry, Derry, Omagh and Enniskillen all announced a suspension.
Pupils in P6 have been learning from home since March and will be among the first groups brought back into classrooms when schools reopen on August 24.
Many parents are worried about how ready their children will be for papers in November and December.
A survey by education charity Parentkind revealed almost half of P6 parents cited their child not being fully prepared for the tests as one of their biggest lockdown concerns.
There has been no state involvement in the 11-plus for more than a decade. The entrance exams are instead run by private organisations, the Association for Quality Education (AQE) and Post Primary Transfer Consortium (PPTC).
Schools are typically in one of these two camps, but a small number accept results from both.
In total, 63 schools use at least one of these assessments, and almost all of them appear to be pressing ahead.
The AQE, which has 34 members, has confirmed that every one of its schools are committed to hosting assessments this winter.
There are 33 schools that use the PPTC papers, most of them Catholic grammars. Eleven of them have suspended their tests.
In addition, the integrated Lagan College, which uses both tests, will not hold assessments this year.
After speaking to AQE, The Irish News subsequently contacted every Catholic grammar school, and all those who operate both tests, to ask them would they clarify their position.
It received just one reply from schools in the Catholic sector. However, senior, well-placed sources said it would be correct to assume the exams would be held.
Campbell College and Royal Belfast Academical Institution, who use both papers, confirmed there would be no change.
Also, Methodist College Belfast said it intended to run the AQE Common Entrance Assessments on the published dates.
“Full consideration will be given to the practicalities and issues associated with this to ensure that the process is run in a safe and efficient manner,” said principal Scott Naismith.
“The board of governors and the senior leadership team have also started devising contingency plans which will allow the college to operate its admissions process for 2021 fairly and transparently.”
While some senior Catholic Church figures have entered into the debate, others have remained quiet on the issue.
Archbishop Eamon Martin and Bishop of Derry Donal McKeown both appealed to schools in their respective dioceses to suspend tests.
The first two schools to announce publicly that exams would definitely be used were St Patrick’s Academy in Dungannon and St Joseph’s in Donaghmore, both on the archbishop’s doorstep.
In Derry, two of the city’s three Catholic schools agreed to a one year suspension. The third, Lumen Christi is among those currently advertising its entrance tests online.
The position of the northern Catholic bishops is that academic selection should not be used.
Attention has now shifted to Belfast where there are seven Catholic grammar schools holding out.
Bishop of Down and Connor Noel Treanor has not made any public statement on the issue to date.
As a trustee, he will have been in contact with the schools about several issues, including transfer.
Any change in admissions criteria would be a matter for individual boards of governors, however.
St Malachy’s College and Dominican College in north Belfast appear to be going ahead with their exams. Both schools’ websites have detailed information about transfer 2020/21.
Sinn Féin MP for North Belfast John Finucane urged them, and all schools in the city, to suspend academic selection.
“Across the north, many schools have shown leadership and taken the decision to suspend academic selection transfer tests for the upcoming school year,” he said.
“This decision has been taking in the best interests of the young pupils. I am calling on schools in Belfast to end their silence on the issue of academic selection and to give parents clarity.
“No child or parent should have the additional worry of these exams as schools struggle to return to a new normal. Academic selection is wrong, unnecessary and places pressure on young children. There is growing evidence that academic selection has a detrimental impact on the development of young pupils.
“The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Equality Commission, Human Rights Commission, Children’s Commissioner, OECD, the trade union movement and the Catholic Church hierarchy have all called for an end to academic selection.”
The PPTC has cautioned that while December 5 is the date for its papers at present, this could yet change.
“There are still many unknowns regarding what will be possible across society in the late autumn. PPTC recognises that its plans may be affected by the unfolding situation,” the group said.
The AQE’s Common Entrance Assessment will take place on November 21, 28 and December 12. PPTC schools will run their multiple-choice style exams on December 5.
SCHOOLS THAT HAVE SUSPENDED ENTRANCE TESTS
Abbey Christian Brothers’ Newry
Christian Brothers’ School Omagh
Lagan College Belfast
Loreto Grammar Omagh
Mount Lourdes Enniskillen
Our Lady’s Newry
Sacred Heart Newry
St Colman’s Newry
St Columb’s Derry
St Louis Kilkeel
St Michael’s Enniskillen
Thornhill Derry
Report courtesy The Irish News
By Irish News Education Correspondent Simon Doyle
First published 22 June, 2020 01:00
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