11-plus Scrapped

The traditional 11-plus transfer test will no longer be taking place, replaced instead by a new concept of transfer to secondary education at age 14.

Testing of Northern Ireland's P7 children will be scrapped from next year, the Assembly Education Minister has said.

The Sinn Fein MLA, Caitriona Ruane, said the test would be discontinued from next year and that, while her proposals were ambitious, they would end an "outdated and unequal education system" which labelled 11-year-olds as "failures".

The Assembly was told today (Tuesday), that 14 is now the key age.

In recent months she has been dropping hints over the issue, believing 14 to be a more logical age for children to make decisions about their future.

The reforms would be "an opportunity to transform our education system into one fit for the 21st century", she told Assembly members.

However, there is expected to be widespread opposition to the abolition by several interest groups.

The future of academic selection has been the most contentious topic in education in Northern Ireland since former Education Minister – now Deputy First Minister - Martin McGuinness announced plans to scrap the 11-plus transfer test, five years ago.

The DUP raised the matter in the political negotiations that took place at St Andrews in Scotland and succeeded in staving off an outright ban on academic selection for a time.

See: Challenge Issued On Post Primary Selection

(BMcC)