Admission Year 11
ADMISSION TO YEAR 11 (2024-2025)
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 Promoting Positive Behaviour Policy. Information in relation to this may be obtained from the School.
Please Note:
- If the School is stated as the second, third or fourth preference to any other school it is highly unlikely that the school(s) stated in preference to Lurgan College (the “preferred school(s)”) will have decided whether to offer that child a place by the date on which the Admissions Committee of Board of Governors of Lurgan College decide on admissions to the School (“the admissions date”). On the admissions date the Admissions Committee is not able to consider second, third or fourth preference applications which have not already been decided on by the preferred school(s). As the number of children admitted on the admissions date is equal to the school’s admission number, no further places will be available after that date.
- The Education Authority of Northern Ireland operates an on-line system of application for admission to the School (the "on-line system"). This system involves all applications and supplemental information being uploaded to an on-line portal (the “Portal") available on the Education Authority's website.
With regards to the EA On-line system:
- all references to “applications” or “applying” to the School shall be taken to mean doing so via the Portal;
- all applications and any supporting information must be uploaded to the Portal before it is closed at 4pm on Friday 3rd May 2024;
- the Admissions Committee will not be able to consider any documents or information not uploaded to the Portal.
In the event of more applications being received for admission to Year 11 in September 2024 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. 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:
1. For children attending Lurgan Junior High School (LJHS): academic evidence from the Summer Year 9 assessments and the March/April Year 10 Transfer examinations taken whilst attending LJHS. In a contingency situation, which interferes with LJHS being able to hold March/April Year 10 Transfer examinations, academic evidence will be taken from continuous assessment and/or standardised data generated by LJHS.
Such evidence will be provided to the School by LJHS on or before Friday 3rd May 2024.
2. 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 4pm on Friday 3rd May 2024. This information must be uploaded via the Portal and the Admissions Committee will not be able to consider any other documents or information apart from this.
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.
** The School considers that ‘child of the family’ covers:
- A child born to a married couple or to a couple in a civil partnership;
- A child born to a co-habiting couple;
- A child born to a single parent;
- A child of either/any of those people by a previous marriage, civil partnership or relationship;
- A child living with a couple who has been treated as a ‘child of the family’ whether there is a marriage or a civil partnership or not;
- A child living with an individual who has been treated as a ‘child of the family’;
- An adopted or fostered child;
- A situation where, for example, an orphaned cousin is being brought up with a family or individual.
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:
H D O K A I G Y E R Q C N Mc F J W S T P Z L U Mac M V B X;
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 4pm on Friday 3rd May 2024. This evidence must be uploaded via the Portal and the Admissions Committee will not be able to consider any other evidence apart from this.
This evidence must include:
1. Precise details of this problem, with independent evidence to corroborate its existence and its effect on the child’s academic performance;
2. 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;
3. If it exists, evidence of the child’s academic performance in Years 8, 9 and 10;
4. If appropriate, accredited assessments, including assessments by qualified educational psychologists.
SPECIAL PROVISIONS
Special Provisions apply to:
- Children whose parents/guardians wish them to transfer from schools outside Northern Ireland; parents/guardians must include educational evidence such as the child’s academic performance in Years 8, 9 and 10.
- Children who have received more than half of their education to date outside Northern Ireland; parents/guardians must include educational evidence such as the child’s academic performance in Years 8, 9 and 10.
- 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 2, 3 and 4 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 4pm on Friday 3rd May 2024. This evidence must be uploaded via the Portal and the Admissions Committee will not be able to consider any other evidence apart from this.
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 (including all relevant evidence of academic ability) 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 via the portal to the School by the relevant date and time. Failure to provide such information by the relevant date will result in the Admissions Committee 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.
Key information for Admission
Admission to Senior High Schools (Dickson Plan 14+)
Admission Videos and Guidance for Parents
Key Dates for Admission 2025-26
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