Lurgan College          Controlled Senior High School (Grammar) 

   

College Walk 

Lurgan 

CRAIGAVON 

BT66 6JW 

Telephone:  028 3832 2083  

Fax: 028 3832 7748 

Email: info@lurgancollege.lurgan.ni.sch.uk 

Twitter:  @lurgancollege 

Website:  www.lurgancollege.co.uk 

Headmaster:  Mr T D Robinson BA (Hons), PGCE, MEd, PQH (NI) 

Chairman of the Board of Governors:  Mr S A H Abraham JP 

 

Age Range:     14-19                                       

Admissions Number: 125                                     

Enrolment Number: 440 

 

Open Night for Year 10 Pupils – Thursday 21 January 2021:  7.00 pm - 9.30 pm 

(Subject to review – see website for updates) 

 

 

RESPECTIVE FUNCTIONS OF THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS AND PRINCIPAL IN RELATION TO ADMISSIONS TO THE SCHOOL 

 

The Board of Governors draws up the admissions criteria and delegates to an Admissions Committee, which includes the Principal, the responsibility for applying these criteria.  Any reference herein to the term Board of Governors includes any Committee or Subcommittee appointed by the Board of Governors for the purposes of applying the Admissions Criteria set out herein.  

 

ADMISSIONS CRITERIA 

 

Lurgan College will give consideration to accepting all children who have the ability to follow the academic courses offered by the school.  

 

The Admissions Committee of the Board of Governors will apply these criteria on behalf of the Board of Governors.   

 

DUTY TO VERIFY 

 

Applicants should note that they may be required to produce documents verifying their address or the age of the child concerned.  One of the following three documents may be requested: a birth certificate, medical card or utility bill. 

 

ADMISSIONS CRITERIA  

 

ADMISSION TO YEAR 11 (2021-2022) 

  

The lodging of an application for a place at Lurgan College (the School) is interpreted by the Board of Governors as an indication that the parents and the pupil concerned accept and are in agreement with the ethos, philosophy, aims, policies and regulations of the school, including the School’s Discipline Policy. Information in relation to this may be obtained from the School.  

 

In the event of more applications being received for admission to Year 11 in September 2021 than there are places available, the following criteria for admission will be applied until the School’s admissions number is met. The application of the criteria below is subject to the rules on Special Circumstances and Special Provisions set out below.  

 

In accordance with statutory requirements, in applying the criteria and sub-criteria set out below, any child resident in Northern Ireland at the time of the proposed admission to the School will be selected for admission to the School before any child not so resident.  

 

The Board of Governors reserves the right to require such supplementary evidence as it may determine to support or verify information on any application form/Transfer Form. The provision of false or incorrect information or the failure to provide verifying documents by the required deadline may result in either the withdrawal of a place or the inability of the school to offer a place.  

 

 

Criterion 1  

 

The Admissions Committee of the Board of Governors (the ‘Admissions Committee’) will select children on the basis of rank order, with higher scores preceding lower ones; those children with a better academic achievement will achieve a higher place in the rank order than children with a lesser academic achievement.  Selection will be based on the following evidence: 

a. For children attending Lurgan Junior High School (LJHS): academic evidence from the Christmas Year  10 assessments and March/April Year 10 Transfer examinations taken whilst attending LJHS. In a  contingency situation necessitated by Covid-19 restrictions, academic evidence will be taken from  continuous Year 10 assessment and/or standardised data generated by LJHS. Such evidence is to be  provided to the  School no later than 7 May 2021;  It is the parents’/guardians’ responsibility to  ensure  that the School is provided with the necessary information about their child’s academic  achievement (as will be available from LJHS). This information/report must be provided to the School no  later than 7 May 2021. 

b. For children who do not attend LJHS and do not meet the criteria for ‘Special Provisions’: the  Admissions Committee will consider all available evidence about the level of academic ability of each  of those children.  Such evidence must be of sufficient detail and quality to allow the Admissions  Committee to place her/him in the rank order as referred to in this criterion. 

The evidence must always  include the most recent report  provided by the child’s transferring school (if such a report exists) and  may include an  assessment of the child’s academic ability provided by the head teacher of the child’s  transferring school. If it is deemed necessary, the Admissions Committee may also request an assessment  of the child’s abilities to be carried out by a qualified educational psychologist [or other suitably qualified  person or body] approved by the School. If such an assessment is carried out, the child will be considered  on the basis of this assessment as well as the academic evidence, as set out in the preceding paragraph,  made available to the School. The admissions criteria will then be applied to that child in the same manner  as to all other children seeking admission to the School. 

By way of example only, the Admissions Committee may request such an assessment in the following  circumstances: 

. Where the available academic evidence is not of sufficient detail and quality to allow the Admissions Committee to place the child in the rank order; 

. Where the child does not meet the criteria for ‘Special Provisions’ but is currently attending a school outside Northern Ireland.  

 It is the parents’/guardians’ responsibility to ensure that the School is provided with the necessary   information about their child’s performance as referred to above. This information/report must be  provided to the School no later than 7 May 2021.  

 

If, on the application of this criterion, two or more children tie for the last available place, the following admissions sub-criteria will be applied to the children in the order given below. The Admissions Committee will apply these criteria on behalf of the Board of Governors. 

 

Sub-criterion 1  

 

Preference will be given to a child who, at the time of application, attends Lurgan Junior High School.  

 

Sub-criterion 2  

 

Preference will be given to a child who, at the time of application, has a child of the family enrolled at the School OR who, at the time of application, is the eldest child of his/her family eligible to apply for admission to the School.  

 

Sub-criterion 3  

 

Preference will be given to a child for whom the School is the nearest suitable, non-denominational grammar school.  

 

Sub-criterion 4  

 

A child will be selected for admission on the basis of the initial letter of his/her surname (as entered on his/her birth certificate) in the order set out below:  

 

D A K B E T U C F Q J Y V M P X R G L Z W S O I N H; 

 

In the event of surnames beginning with the same initial letter, the subsequent letters of the surname will be used in alphabetical order. In the event of two identical surnames, the alphabetical order of the initial letter of the first of the forenames (as entered on his / her birth certificate) will be used.  

 

Sub-criterion 5  

 

Preference will be given to an older child, as established by the date of birth entered on his/her birth certificate.  

 

Sub-criterion 6  

 

A child who is selected through the use of a computerised random selection programme will be selected for admission to the School.  

 

SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES  

If:  

A child’s place in the rank order referred to in Criterion 1 has been adversely affected by medical or other problems which have impacted on his/her academic performance, documentary evidence of these special circumstances must be provided to the School by the child’s parents/guardians no later than 10 May 2021.  

This evidence must include:  

i. Precise details of this problem, with independent evidence to corroborate its existence and its effect on the child’s academic performance;  

ii. If the problem is of a medical nature, appropriate medical certificate(s). In particular, where a medical problem was one of short duration which affected the child during examinations, the School will require the production of evidence that the child was examined by a medical practitioner in relation to the illness at the time of the examination;  

iii. If it exists, evidence of the child’s academic performance in Years 8, 9 and 10;  

iv. If appropriate, accredited assessments, including assessments by qualified educational psychologists.  

 

SPECIAL PROVISIONS  

Special Provisions apply to:  

(a) Children whose parents/guardians wish them to transfer from schools outside Northern Ireland; parents/guardians may wish to include educational evidence such as the child’s academic performance in Years 8, 9 and 10.  

(b) Children who have received more than half of their education to date outside Northern Ireland; parents/guardians may wish to include educational evidence such as the child’s academic performance in Years 8, 9 and 10.  

(c) Children, who because of a serious medical or other issue, were unable to participate in any educational assessment. Parents must indicate to the School the precise reason why the pupil did not participate in any educational assessment. This must be supported by appropriate independent verifiable documentary evidence such as required at i, ii and iv above.  

Parents/guardians who wish their child to apply to the School under Special Provisions must provide the appropriate documentary evidence to the School no later than 10 May 2021.  

 

NOTES ON SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES/SPECIAL PROVISIONS  

On the basis of the evidence provided by the parents/guardians, the Admissions Committee will, in its absolute discretion, decide if a child has been affected by Special Circumstances or is one to whom Special Provisions apply. The Admission Committee will assess children in either of these categories based on the medical and academic evidence made available to the School. It is, therefore, important that those seeking such qualification make sure that the relevant material and evidence is submitted, setting out clearly the reason for these Special Circumstances or Special Provisions to apply. 

The onus is on parents/guardians to ensure that the above information is provided to the School by the relevant date. Failure to provide such information by the relevant date may result in the School being unable to consider the application for Special Circumstances or Special Provisions.  

If it is decided that a child has been affected by Special Circumstances or is subject to Special Provisions, the Admissions Committee will determine, on the basis of all available evidence, the level of academic ability of that child and place her/him in the rank order referred to in Criterion 1. The Admissions Committee may also request an assessment of the child’s abilities to be carried out by a qualified educational psychologist [or other suitably qualified person or body] approved by the School. If such an assessment is carried out, the child will be judged on the basis of this assessment as well as the medical and academic evidence made available to the School. The admissions criteria will then be applied to that child in the same manner as to all other children seeking admission to the School.  

Please note that judgement of the importance of the documentation forwarded in support of Special Circumstances or Special Provisions will be at the discretion of the Admissions Committee. The existence of Special Circumstances or Special Provisions does not in itself lead to automatic admission to the School. Each case is considered on its own merits by the Admissions Committee.   

 

WAITING LIST POLICY 

 

The school does not operate a waiting list policy.   

  

APPLICATIONS AND ADMISSIONS TO YEAR 11 

 

 

Year       2018/2019 

Admissions No    115

 Total Applications All Preferences     249

 Total Admissions     117

 

Year       2019/20 

Admissions No    115

 Total Applications All Preferences     303

 Total Admissions     116

 

Year       2020/21 

Admissions No    125

 Total Applications All Preferences     314

 Total Admissions     127

 

 

 

CRITERIA FOR ADMISSION AFTER GCSE - 16+ (2021-2022) 

 

Admission will be based on: 

(a) Evidence of educational attainment based on externally validated examinations. A minimum of 3 Grade B and 5 Grade C GCSE passes (or 11 points – A* = 4 points; A = 3 points; B = 2 points; C* = 1.5 points; C = 1 point) are required. English Board 9-1 equivalences will be accepted. It is preferable to have GCSE grades A*, A or B (or English Board equivalences) in those subjects to be taken at Advanced Level; 

(b) The availability of places in chosen subjects or courses; 

(c) The availability of places in Year 13; 

(d) The overall enrolment number of the College. 

 

In the event of there being more applicants than places, applicants will be ranked according to their total points score in GCSE, worked out on the basis of A* = 4 points; A = 3 points; B = 2 points; C* = 1.5 points; C= 1 point. Short Course GCSE grades will be awarded half the above points. Places will be offered in descending order subject to the above criteria. 

 

All pupils resident in Northern Ireland at the time of their proposed admission to the school will be selected for admission before any child not so resident. 

Criteria for allocating the final place where point scores are tied are as follows: 

1. Child of the family already enrolled at the School OR eldest child of the family eligible to apply for admission to the School; 

2. Initial letter of surname (as entered on birth certificate) in the order set out below: 

 

D A K B E T U C F Q J Y V M P X R G L Z W S O I N H; 

 

3. In the event of surnames beginning with the same initial letter, the subsequent letters of the surname will be used in alphabetical order. In the event of two identical surnames, the alphabetical order of the letters of the forenames (as entered on birth certificate) will be used; 

4. If applicants are still tied, then priority will be determined amongst them by a method of computerised random selection leaving a clear audit trail. 

 

All applications for places must include full details of results obtained at GCSE and be received by the school office staff by 1.00 pm on Friday 27 August 2021.  

 

The Department of Education may, on request, increase the number of pupils that the school can admit to its Year 13. Places that become available in this way shall be allocated only to pupils who meet the basic eligibility criteria for sixth form study and shall be allocated in the order determined by the criteria to be applied in the order set down below: 

1.  Pupils who have most recently completed Year 12 in Lurgan College; 

2. Pupils from other schools where admission to an extra place at Lurgan College has been agreed by the   Department of Education*. 

 

*Parents should note how the Department of Education will, in response to a school's request, increase the school's enrolment number in order to allow an extra post -16 pupil to enrol. DE will first check whether there is another school or schools of a type suitable for that pupil within an hour’s journey of where the pupil lives. If there is, DE will then check whether this other school or schools may provide all of the post-16 courses that the pupil wishes to pursue. If these checks find that no other suitable school may provide all of the post-16 courses that the pupil wishes to pursue - then DE will agree a school's request for an extra place. 

 

What is a school of a type that is suitable for a pupil? To determine this, DE first considers all schools to be one of 4 types: (i) denominational (ii) non-denominational (iii) Integrated and (iv) Irish-Medium.  A school requesting an extra place for a post-16 pupil will belong to one of these 4 types and DE will consider any other school from this same type as suitable for the pupil.  DE will also consider as suitable for the pupil any school of the same type as that attended by the child in Year 12.