NI grammar school abandons academic selection for 2022

The NI grammar school is St Mary’s Christian Brothers Grammar School in west Belfast

In a statement to BBC News NI, the governors of St Mary’s Christian Brothers Grammar School said they would not take part in transfer tests this autumn.

The governors said this was due to the “unprecedented mental and emotional stresses” faced by Primary 6 children.

St Mary’s is an all-boys grammar on Belfast’s Glen Road, has more than 1,100 pupils and admits about 180 young people every year.

In previous years, it has used the transfer tests run by the Post-Primary Transfer Consortium (PPTC) to select pupils.

The separate tests run by the PPTC and AQE were cancelled in 2021 due to disruption caused by the Covid pandemic.

That has meant the vast majority of more than 60 grammar schools are using non-academic criteria to select pupils for September 2021.

St Mary’s has become the first grammar school to decide not to use transfer tests for a second year.

Following a decision by the NI Executive on Tuesday, Primary 6 children are due to return to school on March 22.

Primary 6 children have only been taught in school for about four months in the past year.

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