Secondary education in Northern Ireland

Secondary education for children up to 16 years of age is compulsory.

All schools teach children from 11 to 16 years old and prepare them for the GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) – a general certificate of secondary education, or GNVQ (General National Vocational Qualification) – a national certificate of professional qualifications. Successful passing of such an exam is a prerequisite for admission to the high school.

From 14 to 16 years old, schoolchildren purposefully prepare for exams (usually – 7-9 subjects) for a certificate of secondary education – General Certificate of Secondary education.

Secondary schools are of 2 types:

Grammar School is a type of free high school where children aged 11 years and over are being admitted according to their exams results: Grammar Schools use advanced curriculum to prepare students for the university. About 1/3 of all high schools in Northern Ireland are grammar schools.
Non-Grammar Secondary school – other secondary schools for children aged 11 and over (the academic standards there are lower than in Grammar Schools) (about 2/3 of all secondary schools are Non-Grammar school).

Approximately 90% Grammar school graduates (and less than 30% of the graduates of the Non-Grammar Secondary schools) in Northern Ireland, continue their education in universities.

All Grammar schools are academic ones and prepare for admission to universities.

Although formally they do not have a division into specializations (physics and mathematics, foreign language, etc.), however if one analyzes the results of external independent exams (GSCE, A-level) in breakdown by subject – then one can independently draw a conclusion about the actual “specializations” of the school: one school has outstanding results in the math sciences, the other – in the natural sciences, the third – in the humanities, and so on.

Information on the results of external independent examinations of the school, broken down on subjects are in school booklets, which are handed out during the “open days” (in January). You can also ask the school for these booklets at any time.

Post-primary (or secondary) education covers up to three stages – Key Stage 3, Key Stage 4, and Key Stage 5:

Key Stage 3: years (grades) 8th to 10th, age 11 – 14 years old;
Key Stage 4: years (grades) 11-12, age 14 – 16 years old (including GCSE examinations)
Key Stage 5:
year (grade) 13, age 16 to 17 years old (including AS-level examinations)
year (grade) 14, age 17 to 18 years old (including A-level A2 examinations)

Admission to secondary schools:

Primary schools children take standardized Transfer Tests in November-December. There have been changes to the Transfer Test from 2023. The current providers AQE & PPTCNI have merged into one body called the Schools’ Entrance Assessment Group (SEAG): https://seagni.co.uk/

Admission to school after the beginning of the school year (after admission deadline passed) – please contact the school and also check https://www.eani.org.uk/parents/admissions/search-admissions -criteria for each specific school – pay attention to the sections:

“WAITING LIST POLICY”
“Special Provision”
“ADMISSIONS CRITERIA FOR ADMISSION TO YEARS 9 – 12” and

«ADMISSIONS TO YEAR 8 AFTER 1 SEPTEMBER»

Subjects on Key Stage 3 :

Art&Design
Drama
English
French
Geography
History
Home economics/culinary
ICT (Digital Technologies)
LLW (social studies)
Math
Music
PE (Physical Education)
RE (Religious Education)
Spanish
Technology&Design
Science (natural sciences: physics, chemistry, biology)
Irish/German (offered not everywhere)

Some schools also offer additional subjects.

Key Stage 4 – Specialization begins: there are both compulsory subjects and optional subjects.

At age 14, pupils select which subjects to continue to study for General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) examinations. Currently, it is compulsory to study English Language and Mathematics, although subjects such as English Literature, French, Learning for Life and Work, Religious Studies and Science (single-, double- or triple-award) may also be compulsory in certain schools.

In addition, pupils usually choose to continue with other subjects and many study for eight or nine GCSEs, and possibly up to ten or eleven. GCSEs mark the end of compulsory education in Northern Ireland.

Young people may continue their education at a post-primary school (often a grammar school) or at a further education college after Key Stage 4.

At 16 years of age, after completing the compulsory education, students can:

Leave school and start to work;
select a wide range of options for further education through its regional colleges (for further education), and other specialist colleges for teacher training and the agri-food sector;
continue education at school (Key Stage 5 (AS-level, A2-level)) to prepare themselves for the university.

Key Stage 5 (AS-level, A2-level)

At age 16, some pupils stay at school and choose to study A-Level – AS and A2 – level subjects or more vocational qualifications such as Applied Advanced Levels; many also take up vocational courses at further education colleges on leaving school. Those choosing AS and A2 levels normally pick three or four subjects and success in these can determine acceptance into higher education courses at university.

To all those wishing to enter the university, schools offer a two-year A-levels course:

After the first year of study, AS exams are taken, and after the second – A2-levels. The study involves the mandatory study of 3-4 subjects.

There are no compulsory subjects – the students selects all subjects for themselves individually from the list of 15-20 subjects offered by the school, thereby determining their own specialization, which they will dedicate next 3-5 years of study at the university.

What are the requirement for admission to A-level?

The result of the GSCE exams should be not lower than the “pass grade” for the selected subjects.

Useful links:

ENG:

School search: https://www.eani.org.uk/search-schools

Admission conditions: https://www.eani.org.uk/parents/admissions

Admission criteria: https://www.eani.org.uk/parents/admissions/search-admissions-criteria

Inspection reports – Secondary Schools: https://www.etini.gov.uk/publications/type/inspectionreports/organisational/post-primary-9

Institution Search: http://apps.education-ni.gov.uk/appinstitutes/

UKR:

School search: https://www-eani-org-uk.translate.goog/search-schools?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=uk&_x_tr_hl=en

Admission conditions: https://www-eani-org-uk.translate.goog/parents/admissions?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=uk&_x_tr_hl=en