ADMISSIONS CRITERIA FOR ENTRY SEPTEMBER 2026
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OPEN NIGHT
Open night will be held on Thursday 15th January 2026. The Principal’s Address will be delivered in the Assembly Hall and we would ask guests to be seated by 6.20pm. This will immediately be followed by a tour of the school which should finish by 9.30pm. Primary 6 and Primary 7 students and their parents or guardians are most welcome. To ensure everyone has a pleasant evening, we would respectfully ask that where possible, each child be accompanied by a maximum of two adults. |
Respective functions of the Board of Governors and Principal in relation to Admissions to the school
The Board of Governors formulate and review the Admission Criteria while the Principal administers the criteria. The Governors also approve admissions.
ADMISSIONS CRITERIA FOR ENTRY INTO YEAR 8
Article 16 of the 1997 Education Order as amended requires Boards of Governors to provide for all children resident in Northern Ireland at the time of their proposed admission to the school to be selected for admission to the school before any child not so resident may be selected for admission.
When considering which children should be selected for admission, the Board of Governors will only take into account information which is detailed on or attached to the application form. Parents should therefore ensure that all information pertaining to their child and relevant to the school’s admissions criteria is stated on the application form or attached to it.
Criteria
In the event of oversubscription preference will be given using the criteria detailed below and in the order set out in points 1 to 3:-
- Pupils who wish to transfer from traditional feeder primary schools, namely Ampertaine, Bellaghy, Buick Memorial, Carhill, Castledawson, Churchtown, Coagh, Duneane, Fourtowns, Garvagh, Groggan, Kilrea, Knockloughrim, Knocknagin, Maine Integrated, Maghera, Magherafelt, Moneymore, Portglenone, Randalstown, Tobermore, Spires Integrated and Woods.
- Applicants with a sibling currently attending the school.
- Date of birth will be used as a tie break with preference being given to the eldest. If two or more children have the same date of birth, then Children will be selected for admission on the basis of initial letter(s) of surname (as entered on Birth Certificate) in the order set out as follows:
L W U A Mac G O K J N C F M S H Y T Mc V R D X P I Q B Z E
This order was determined by random selection.
In the event of surnames beginning with the same initial letter the subsequent letters of the surname will be used in alphabetical order. In the event of two identical surnames the alphabetical order of the initials of the forenames will be used.
Applicants should note that they may be required to produce documents verifying information pertinent to the school's admission criteria.
During the admissions procedure when applying the criteria punctual applications will be considered before late applications are considered. The application procedure opens on 27 January 2026 at 12 noon (GMT) and an application submitted by the closing date of 19 February 2026 at 12 noon (GMT) will be treated as a punctual application. An application received after 12 noon (GMT) on 19 February 2026 and up to 4pm on 24 February 2026 will be treated as a late application.
ADMISSIONS TO YEAR 8 AFTER 1 SEPTEMBER 2026
Parents who wish to have their child considered for admission in the event of a place arising after 1 September 2026 should write to the Principal clearly stating this. In the event of a vacancy arising the above criteria will be applied to these applications only.
Applications and Admissions to Year 8
|
Year |
Admissions Number |
Total Applications |
Total Admissions |
|
2023/2024 |
100 |
92 |
108 |
|
2024/2025 |
100 |
102 |
109 |
|
2025/2026 |
100 |
102 |
108 |
This table does not include children who were admitted to the school with a statement of special educational needs.
Criteria for admission to years 9 onwards
The school will consider all requests for the admission of children transferring to this school, outside of the normal Primary 7 transition period subject to;
1. All such requests being made in writing, from the parents of the child concerned to the principal.
2. The consideration that all such requests can be accomodated within the school’s Admissions Number/Enrolment Number.
3. The information outlined in the Application Form for Admission to a Secondary School (AP1) and taking particular account of point 4 in the ‘notes for guidance on the completion of form AP1’.
4. The ability of the school to accommodate additional pupils within the year group and in particular within practical groupings, without exceeding legislative maximum or safe working numbers.
5. The ability of the school to place a pupil in the most appropriate academic setting i.e. the school streams pupils on the basis of their assessed academic ability and, where a child joins the school at a stage other than normal transfer from P7 to Year 8, it may be impractical to admit a child to a class reflecting the child’s academic ability because of a lack of available spaces within the class, particularly when they are divided into practical class groupings.