“Transfer test” results were issued to thousands of P7 pupils in Northern Ireland last Saturday.
Here are some key facts about transfer tests and the debate around this distinctive aspect of education in Northern Ireland.
New common transfer test
The transfer test results are being used by 63 post-primary schools - almost all grammar schools - to decide which pupils to admit. Around 12,700 pupils in their last year of primary education sat the tests over two weekends in November 2023.
The 2023-24 results stem from a new common transfer test for all, run by the Schools’ Entrance Assessment Group (SEAG), which replaced separate tests run by the AQE and PPTC bodies. SEAG’s common transfer test comprises two one-hour test papers, with questions on maths and English or Irish.
After Saturday’s results, families now have until late February to apply for post-primary places before allocations are made in May.
Controversy around transfer tests
The new tests run this year mark the biggest change to Northern Ireland’s post-primary transfer system since 2008, when more than 60 years of the state-run 11-plus test came to an end.
Reform came after the 2001 Burns review of the education system, published after consultation forms were sent to every household in Northern Ireland.
They were mostly completed by families who had children at grammar schools, who generally favoured retaining academic selection. However, then education minister Martin McGuinness said wider opinion was against selection, if suitable alternatives were available.
Regardless of recent changes, academic selection at 11 continues to fuel strong opinions in Northern Ireland.
A 2022 Queen’s University research paper questioned whether academic selection in Northern Ireland was a barrier to social cohesion, finding that it “disadvantages the already most disadvantaged”.
Last week, the Belfast Telegraph reported comments from Siobhan O’Neill, the mental health champion for Northern Ireland, who said that the use of exams to decide children’s path through school at the age of 11 was “a terrible system and it needs to change”.
Key dates for 2024-25 transfer tests
Kay dates for the 2024-25 transfer tests are expected to be along these lines:
- SEAG registration to open in May 2024 and close in September 2024
- SEAG assessment on Saturday 16 November 2024 (Paper 1) and Saturday 23 November 2024 (Paper 2)
- SEAG results in January 2025
- Applications to post-primary schools in February 2024
- School allocation made in May 2025
