This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/northern_ireland/7990183.stm
The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Transfer test groups have talks | Transfer test groups have talks |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Two groups who are drawing up transfer tests to replace the 11 plus exam have met to discuss their long-term plans. | Two groups who are drawing up transfer tests to replace the 11 plus exam have met to discuss their long-term plans. |
| It is understood the Association of Quality Education (AQE) and a group of Catholic grammar schools agreed their separate tests will go ahead this year. | It is understood the Association of Quality Education (AQE) and a group of Catholic grammar schools agreed their separate tests will go ahead this year. |
| However, there is an aim to create one test to which all schools can agree. | However, there is an aim to create one test to which all schools can agree. |
| Meanwhile, Portora Royal School in Enniskillen intends to sign up to the new tests being proposed by the consortium of Catholic schools. | |
| Portora headmaster, Neil Morton, explained why he has opted for the tests set by the National Foundation for Educational Research. | |
| "The decision was made to follow the simplest, most straightforward least stressful way forward and it was reckoned that would be the NFER test which is a 50-minute test as opposed to three one-hour tests which AQE schools have been offering. | |
| "Now as it so happens the same thinking was being developed within certain Catholic grammar schools," Mr Morton said. | |
| Some schools are opposed to the ending of the 11 plus, while others are unhappy at the assembly's failure to agree to an alternative system. | |
| It has resulted in one group of schools, largely Catholic grammars, deciding to set English and maths papers as a way of determining pupil admissions to their schools. The exams will be set and marked by the England-based National Foundation for Education Research. | It has resulted in one group of schools, largely Catholic grammars, deciding to set English and maths papers as a way of determining pupil admissions to their schools. The exams will be set and marked by the England-based National Foundation for Education Research. |
| Another group of schools is setting a Common Entrance Assessment with the help of the AQE. It will also test English and Maths. | Another group of schools is setting a Common Entrance Assessment with the help of the AQE. It will also test English and Maths. |
| The AQE's chairman Sir Ken Bloomfield said there was a "shared understanding of each other's aims" at the meeting. | The AQE's chairman Sir Ken Bloomfield said there was a "shared understanding of each other's aims" at the meeting. |
| A third smaller group of grammar schools, mainly in Ballymena, has been considering using verbal reasoning tests. | A third smaller group of grammar schools, mainly in Ballymena, has been considering using verbal reasoning tests. |
| The education minister Caitríona Ruane has repeatedly told schools that there is no need for entrance tests and warned that what they are planning is "a legal minefield." | The education minister Caitríona Ruane has repeatedly told schools that there is no need for entrance tests and warned that what they are planning is "a legal minefield." |