Transfer tests: "Nervous and frustrated" - 120 NI pupils without a school place
We've been speaking to the family of a Primary 7 boy who's been left in the 1% of kids without a school to attend in September.
Last updated 24th Jun 2021
More than 120 primary school children in Northern Ireland are still in the dark about what secondary school they will attend in September 2021.
On Saturday June 12, 2021 more than 23,000 P7 children across the country were told which school they had secured a place in.
However, that morning 280 pupils were told they did not have a spot in any school.
Figures from the Education Authority, as of June 22, show there has been a reduction in that number.
However, current figures reveal the stark reality that more than 120 pupils are still yet to discover what school they will be enrolled in for secondary education.
Eleven-year-old Jamie Ross, from Ballyskeagh near Lisburn, is one of those 120+ "school-less" children.
His parents applied to seven different schools in the Lisburn and Belfast areas.
Unfortunately, Jamie was not offered at place at any of his choices.
Speaking to Downtown and Cool FM he said: “It makes me feel very nervous and frustrated, it's also just the knowing that I can’t find out what school I’m going to, and all these other people can."
"Stop leaving us worried"
Asked what he would tell the Education Authority or Department for Education if he had the chance, Jamie said: “I’d tell them to sort it out as quick as they can and stop leaving me and these other people worried.”
It all comes as the Coronavirus pandemic significantly changed the rules around how school places were designated.
Transfer tests were pulled, and the criteria was changed, making it harder for students with no current or previous family links to a school to lock-down on a place.
Jamie’s dad Richard described getting the news as “heart wrenching”.
He said: “The night before the results came through, I said to my wife Orla, maybe expect the unexpected, but we just did not expect this.
“We put seven schools forward, so we gave that range of options.
“When we found out that Saturday morning that we didn’t get seven schools it was absolutely heart wrenching.
"Grief-stricken"
“Ideally we wanted a school in Lisburn but we put schools in Belfast just to accommodate because when the new criteria came through in March, we felt with Jamie being the eldest child, and with the fact that his mother and father didn’t really go to schools in the area, he was probably at a big disadvantage.”
Richard and his wife Orla have since reached out to other families who are in the same situation, who he says all feel “grief stricken”.
He added: “We’ve reached out to a lot of parents and there’s a lot of, when we chat to them we all feel the same, we all feel verging on grief stricken because of the lost opportunity, or what we feel could be lost opportunities for our children.
“We’ve all been great in sharing best practices, how to challenge the rulings that have been given to our children: from exceptional circumstances, to the appeals process for the schools, we’ve appointed a solicitor and we are engaging with our MP and MLA’s," RIchard said.
"Immediate priority"
During her first official engagement as Education Minister earlier this month, Michelle McIlveen, said the post-primary transfer is at the top of her to-do list.
She told Downtown and Cool Fm sorting school places was an “immediate priority” and that it will be a “issue over the next number of weeks."
The Minister did not say when it is hoped all students will have received a placement but added this will be done as quickly as possible, by working in tandem with the Education Authority and schools, whilst also consulting parents too.
A spokesperson for the Department of Education said: “While almost 99% of children secured a place during the admissions process, parents of children still to be placed have been provided with a list of schools where places remain available across Northern Ireland. Applications to these schools have been being processed over recent days and will continue to be processed as parents nominate alternative schools.
“The Department allocated a total of 828 additional Year 8 places for September 2021 to schools across Northern Ireland to cater for oversubscription. Where further oversubscription arises more places will be allocated as the Department aims to ensure that every child can access a school place.
“Places remain available across Northern Ireland and parents are advised to apply for places at these schools. A child cannot be placed until further preference schools are nominated by his/her parent.
“The Department will continue to work closely with the Education Authority to ensure every child secures a school place before the start of term.”
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