AQE test Northern Ireland: Last ever results in this academic selection test are already in the post

In October it was revealed that the Schools' Entrance Assessment Group (SEAG) test had around 60 participating schools and will replace the AQE and PPTC [GL] test this Autumn.

A spokesperson for AQE Ltd said: “Over 8000 pupils across Northern Ireland sat this year’s AQE transfer test. All of the results have now been posted and are due to arrive via Royal Mail tomorrow [Saturday].

“The tests held in November and December 2022 went very well and we would like to wish every pupil all the very best of luck for their results.”

UUP Education Spokesman Robbie Butler said many people will remember, with a wide degree of different experience, the day they got their transfer test results.

"For me it was the 11+ and was a day that didn’t bring the result I thought I needed," he said. "For the thousands of primary 7 pupils across Northern Ireland who will be excitedly awaiting the post today I send you every best wish but also offer a word of advice. Whatever the result, don't let it define you. Celebrate what you get as an indication of what you do next to get to where you want to be. I didn’t let my result define me."

DUP Education spokesperson Diane Dodds said: "Thousands of parents and pupils each year choose to sit AQE and GL [PPTC] tests. They value the ability to ensure that children attend a school which is best suited to their needs. We wish all the children well in their results and with whichever school they choose."

While some parties have been very clear that they want to "abolish" grammar schools, she said, there are still significant questions about what they would replace them with.

In November QUB academics Prof Joanne Hughes and Dr Rebecca Loader published a paper which argued that "academic selection perpetuates middle-class advantage and limits potential for the development of a more integrative and inclusive education system".

The Education Authority said it is important that those applying for secondary schools should nominate at least four schools and include at least one non-grammar school in their application form.