Important information – Transfer 2021-22

Important information for Parents and Carers of Primary Six pupils in relation to Transfer 2021-22 in the Newry/Kilkeel area

Abbey Christian Brothers’ Grammar School, Our Lady’s Grammar School, Sacred Heart Grammar School, St Colman’s College, Newry and St Louis Grammar School, Kilkeel have acted together as a local consortium of Grammar Schools in the Newry/Kilkeel area. The five schools listed above, either wholly or in part, have used the outcomes of GL Entrance Assessment as the basis of selection of P7 pupils for admission to their respective schools. As a local consortium, these five schools have operated a central registration procedure with all applicants from the same Primary School sitting the GL Entrance Assessment in one of the five schools listed.

The Boards of Governors and the Principals of Abbey Christian Brothers’ Grammar School, Our Lady’s Grammar School, Sacred Heart Grammar School, St Colman’s College, Newry and St Louis Grammar School, Kilkeel have considered the impact of school closures on our local community. They recognise that there has been disruption to the education of pupils since March 2020, including that of P6 pupils and understand that there may be further disruption during the 2020-21 academic year.

The Boards of Governors of the five schools in the Newry and Kilkeel Consortium have agreed, in light of the current circumstances and for one year only, that the academic admissions criteria in each of the five schools will not be used for the academic year 2021-22.

•  As a result, none of the five schools will use outcomes from GL Entrance Assessment as part of their Admissions Criteria for the academic year 2021-22. Pupils applying to these schools will not be required to provide a GL Entrance Assessment result.
• All five schools will temporarily amend their Admissions Criteria for the 2021-22 academic year accordingly.
• Aside from some minor amendments at an individual school level, the Admissions Criteria for the 2021-22 academic year will largely be based on each school’s sub-criteria.
• Each school’s Admissions Criteria will be published by the Education Authority (EA) according to its normal timetable. For reference, the 2020-21 Admissions Criteria are available in each school’s prospectus.

The decision not to use the outcomes of the GL Entrance Assessment for the 2021-22 academic year is specific and particular to this group of five schools in the Newry and Kilkeel area. Each school remains committed to its own ethos and academic focus on high quality teaching and learning. Those who would normally apply to be admitted to each individual school are encouraged to continue to do so.

Careful consideration was given to this decision to temporarily remove the academically selective element of each school’s admissions criteria for one year only i.e. the academic year 2021-22. It is hoped that this decision will provide clarity in the local area for P6 pupils and their parents/carers.

From the Boards of Governors of:
Abbey Christian Brothers’ Grammar School, Newry
Our Lady’s Grammar School, Newry
Sacred Heart Grammar School, Newry
St Colman’s College, Newry
St Louis Grammar School, Kilkeel

29th May 2020

Admissions Policy 2020 – 2021