DALRIADA SCHOOL

St James Road

Ballymoney BT53 6BL

Telephone: 028 2766 3066

Email: secretary@dalriada.ballymoney.ni.sch.uk

Website: www.dalriadaschool.com

Voluntary Grammar School     (Non-denominational)

Age Range of Pupils:     11-18 years

Admissions Number:     125

Enrolment Number:     815

Headmaster: Mr T J Skelton, BEd (Hons), MA (Ed Man)

Chairman of Board of Governors: Mr B J Dillon, BA, MEd, DMS, Cert Ed, DASE

OPEN MORNING

Due to Covid-19 restrictions, a Virtual Open Day Presentation will be recorded and made available online to parents of P6 and P7 pupils from Wednesday 26th January at 7.30pm. 

Copies of the full prospectus for 2022/2023 will be available online and also from the School office.

TO PARENTS/GUARDIANS naming DALRIADA SCHOOL as a preference on your child’s Online Transfer Application

Entrance Test Results

Please ensure that you provide the following information on your child’s Online Transfer Application

* All those seeking admission to Dalriada School should sit the Common Entrance Assessment for admissions in 2022-2023, conducted by the Association for Quality Education.

* The score in the AQE CEA should be entered in the following format: AQE CEA score, followed by the raw score received.

Special Circumstances and/or Special Provisions

If you are making a claim for your child to be considered under Special Circumstances or Special Provision please read carefully the relevant sections of Dalriada School’s Criteria for Admission to Year 8 in 2022-2023.

FEES AND CHARGES: A capital Fee (currently £12 per annum) and a Consolidated Charge (Currently £178) are charged in relation to all pupils.

Respective functions of the Board of Governors and Headmaster in relation to Admissions to the school

The School’s Board of Governors determines Criteria for Admission. The Education Committee of the Board of Governors considers applications to Year 8 and selects pupils for admission in the light of the criteria set out below.

When considering which children should be selected for admission, the Education Committee of the Board of Governors will only take into account information which is detailed on or attached/uploaded to the Online application. Parents should therefore ensure that all information pertaining to their child and relevant to the school’s admission criteria is stated on the online transfer application or attached/uploaded to it.

ADMISSIONS CRITERIA FOR ENTRY INTO YEAR 8

Dalriada School, as a co-educational grammar school, provides secondary education for girls and boys in the upper band of the range of academic ability. The School draws its pupils from a wide geographical area and from the full range of social, religious and cultural backgrounds.

The School’s Board of Governors determines Criteria for Admission. The Education Committee of the Board of Governors considers applications to Year 8 and selects pupils for admission in the light of the criteria set out below.

When considering which children should be selected for admission, the Education Committee of the Board of Governors will only take into account information which is detailed on or attached to the Transfer Application. Parents should therefore ensure that all information pertaining to their child and relevant to the school’s admission criteria is stated on the online transfer application or attached uploaded to it.

Please note that it is expected that all those seeking admission to Dalriada School should sit the Common Entrance Assessment for admissions in 2022-2023, conducted by the Association for Quality Education Limited (hereinafter referred to as AQE CEA).

Children resident in Northern Ireland, at the time of their proposed admission, will be selected for admission before any other child.

If the number of applications for Year 8 in September 2022 exceeds the number of places available, pupils will be selected for admission according to the following criteria. They are set out in order of priority.

1. Academic ability as indicated only by the result awarded in the AQE CEA. Children will be admitted in rank order according to their result with higher scores preceding lower scores. Please ensure that you provide the score in the AQE CEA test by attaching/uploading an image of the original Common Entrance Assessment (CEA) score notification sheet provided by AQE to the Online Transfer Application.

Application for Special Circumstances/Special Provision will be considered by the Education Committee of the Board of Governors. Where it is accepted the Education Committee will determine, on the basis of the information available, a score for the pupil. The pupil will then be considered with all other pupils who have received an AQE CEA score and the Admissions Criteria applied. In both Special Circumstances and Special Provisions the School will examine other relevant factors, as explained below, in assessing those qualifying candidates. It is important that those seeking such qualifications make sure that the relevant material and evidence is submitted, setting out clearly why the criteria for this consideration should be applicable.

(a) Special Circumstances

An exception may be made where there is documentary evidence that a child’s overall AQE CEA result may have been adversely affected by medical or other problems.

Parents who wish to claim Special Circumstances should:-

(i) read carefully Dalriada School’s Admissions Criteria. The Education Committee of the Board of Governors will consider claims and decide on the validity of each case.

(ii) obtain Form SC22 from either AQE or Dalriada School.

(iii) provide the appropriate documentary evidence to validate the claim.

• where the problem is a medical one, the school will require the production of evidence that the pupil was examined by a medical practitioner in relation to the illness at the time of the assessment.

• where the problem is of a non-medical nature, appropriate evidence should be provided.

• objective documentary educational evidence must be provided. This should include, where they exist, the results for the pupil of any standardised test conducted in Year 5, Year 6 and Year 7 and the results in any end of year tests in English and Maths and any other appropriate tests results.

(iv) complete form SC22 and then attach it, along with the supporting evidence to the Online transfer application. It is essential that all evidence is provided at the time of application.

(b) Special Provision

If the child has not taken the AQE CEA for one of the reasons below, other evidence of academic ability and aptitude will be considered in deciding whether the applicant should be admitted:

(i) transfer from a school outside Northern Ireland after the closing date to register to sit AQE CEA tests.

(ii) more than half of primary education received outside Northern Ireland.

(iii) children were entered for the AQE CEA, and because of unforeseen and serious medical or other problems were unable to participate in any of the three AQE CEA tests.

Parents who wish to apply to the school under Special Provisions should contact the School as soon as possible.

Parents who wish to claim special provisions must:-

• read carefully the requirements set out in Dalriada School’s admissions criteria. The Education Committee of the Board of Governors will consider claims and decide on the validity of each case.

• obtain Form SC22 from either AQE or Dalriada School.

• provide the appropriate independent documentary evidence required to validate the claim. It is essential that all the evidence is provided at the time of application.

• complete Form SC22 and then send it to Dalriada as your first choice school along with the appropriate independent documentary evidence in support of the claim.

• attach a copy of the SC22 Form along with the appropriate independent documentary evidence to the online transfer application.

The Board of Governors reserves the right to require such supplementary evidence as it may determine to support or verify information on any applicant’s transfer application.

Where it is necessary to distinguish between children who have been awarded the same score in the AQE CEA the School will access the raw scores of the candidates involved and admit children in rank order according to the raw score to the nearest decimal place. In the event of a further tie, criteria 2-6 will be used.

2. Children who, at the date of their application, are members of a family with a child currently enrolled at Dalriada School.

Admissions criteria for entry September 2022

Updated January 2022 www.eani.org.uk/admissions

3. Children whose family previously had a child enrolled at Dalriada School.

4. Children who, at the date of their application are the eldest child (including twins and other multiples) of the family eligible to apply for admission to Dalriada School.

5. The age of the child, preference being given to an older child.

NOTE: The criteria above will be applied to applications for admission to Year 8 throughout the 2022-2023 school year.

ADMISSIONS TO YEAR 8 AFTER 1 SEPTEMBER 2022

Parents who wish to have their child considered for admission in the event of a place arising after 1 September 2022 should write to the Headmaster clearly stating this. Should a vacancy arise, the above criteria will be applied to select pupils from our waiting list.

Applicants may be required to provide original documentation verifying their home address.

Number of Applications and Admissions

Year     2019/20

Admissions No.     125

Total Applications All Preferences     162

Total Admissions     130*

Year     2020/21

Admissions No.     125

Total Applications All Preferences     162

Total Admissions     130 *

Year     2021/22

Admissions No.     125

Total Applications All Preferences     178

Total Admissions     136**

This table does not include children who were admitted to the school with a statement of special educational needs.

*Five admitted following Temporary Variation Request

** Seven admitted following Temporary Variation Request

Details in relation to score/grades accepted are available in the school prospectus.

ADMISSIONS CRITERIA FOR ADMISSION TO YEARS 9 – 12

For further information, contact the Headmaster’s Secretary at Dalriada School.