211 children not admitted to city Grammars

Twenty-five per cent of the total number of children applying to Foyle College, Lumen Christi, Thornhill and St Columb’s College were not admitted, according to the Education Minister John O’Dowd.

Of 876 applications to the four schools 211 did not get in - 25 per cent in total.

At Lumen Christi 47 per cent of children who applied (106 of 226) were not admitted. This was followed by Foyle (21 per cent - 34 of 159), St Columb’s (17 per cent - 46 of 266) and Thornhill (11 per cent - 25 of 225).

The Minister stated: “Figures relate to the position at the conclusion of the transfer procedure on 28 May 2012. The transfer procedure involves parents expressing a number of preferences on the Transfer Form, which equates to multiple applications to schools. It follows therefore that an applicant may appear within the total applications figure of more than one school within this table.”

It demonstrates academic selection is alive and well in Londonderry despite Mr O’Dowd’s exhortation at the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation’s (INTO) Northern conference this Spring that: “We need to move away from academic selection and rejection, informed by the experiences of those high performing systems around the world where academic selection and rejection has no place in a school admissions policy. Removing educational disadvantage in all its forms will make our education system better for all pupils.”