Year 8 Admissions Criteria for September 2023

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

The Christian Brothers’ Grammar School, Omagh is a Catholic grammar school for boys which serves the community of the local area as indicated by the list of feeder primary schools. This school wishes to accept boys who are academically suited for the type of education it offers and whose parents/guardians agree with the ethos and aims of the school. The Board of Governors has delegated the responsibilities for the task of applying the criteria as indicated below to a Transfer Sub Committee, which includes the School Principal.

Applications made in a particular academic year will be considered only for entry in that year. Thereafter, applicants will be required to make a new application for any subsequent year. A waiting list of applicants who made an initial application for admission in 2023 will be held until Friday 8^th September 2023. Thereafter, parents/guardians who wish their child to be considered, should a place become available, must make a new application.

When considering which boys will be selected for admission, the Board of Governors will only consider information which is detailed on or attached to the Online Transfer Form. Parents/Guardians must therefore ensure that all information pertaining to their son and relevant to the school’s admission criteria is stated on the Online Transfer Form or attached to it.

For admission via the academic selection route, Parents/Guardians must provide on/with the child’s Online Transfer Form the grade and combined Standardised Age Score achieved in the GL Entrance Assessments and attach to the form, the original copy of the Statement of Results issued by the Assessment Centre which must include the combined Standardised Age Score.

ADMISSIONS CRITERIA 2023

In accordance with the 1997 Education (Northern Ireland) Order (Section 16 (4)), pupils resident in Northern Ireland at the time of their proposed admission will be selected for admission before any child not so resident may be selected.

Sub-Criteria

For the application of the Admissions Criteria, if there are more boys who meet one of the criteria than there are places available, then the remaining criteria will become sub-criteria and applied successively in the order set out until the final selection is completed. Therefore, the criteria further down the ranking list serve as sub-criteria or tiebreakers for the admissions process.

Route 1 – Non-Academic Selection          (to select 25% of pupils)

For Route 1 applicants, 25% of the intake will be selected from the criteria below. There will be no requirement for applicants to have taken the GL Assessment.

If an applicant is not admitted through the Route 1 Criteria, he will be automatically included for admission at Route 2 provided he has taken the GL Assessment and meets the criteria as set out in Route 2 below.

In the event of the number of pupils applying through the Route 1 process exceeding the places available, the following criteria will be applied in the order set down. If the Admissions Number is exceeded by application of a particular criterion, then the remaining criteria will be used, in turn, to reduce the number of children still being considered for places until the admissions number is reached.

1. Boys with a brother who is currently a pupil or was a past pupil of the Christian Brothers’ Grammar School Omagh or has been selected for admission to the school in the coming school year.
2. Boys who are from traditional feeder primary schools listed in the table below.
3. Boys who at the date of their application are the eldest of the family to be eligible to apply for admission to the school.
4. Boys who are entitled to Free School Meals. “Entitled to Free School Meals” will mean applicants who are listed on the Education Authority register as entitled to Free School Meals. The last date for parents to communicate to the Education Authority their entitlement to free school meals is no later than 4pm on Thursday 9^th March 2023.
5. Boys with a parent currently on the permanent staff of the Christian Brothers’ Grammar School Omagh or a member of the Board of Governors of the School.
6. Boys who have a parent or grandparent who is a past pupil of the Christian Brothers’ Grammar School Omagh and where verifiable evidence has been submitted.
7. Boys ranked by date of birth as entered on the Birth Certificate with the eldest being admitted first. In the event of two or more boys having the same date of birth and thereby qualifying for the last place(s), the boys will be ranked by alphabetical order of surname and then forenames as listed on the birth certificate.

If there are more boys in any one of the above sub-criteria 1 to 7 than there are places available, then the remaining criteria will become sub-criteria and applied successively in the order set out until the final selection is completed.

If, on application of the sub-criteria, there remains oversubscription in the last sub-criterion which can be applied, applicants will be selected for admission on the basis of the initial letter of surname (as entered on the birth certificate or court order) in the order of letters set out below, as determined by a randomised selection:

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 initials of the forenames will be used. Should two or more applicants have the same surname and forename and thereby qualify for the last available place(s), those applicants will be placed in rank order of eldest child by date of birth as stated on their Birth Certificate and admitted in this order.

Route 2 –Academic Selection (to select 75% of pupils)

Applicants will be admitted by rank order of the combined Standardised Age Score attained in the GL Assessment tests (or the score deemed, in the opinion of the authorised sub-committee, for those regarding whom parental claims for special circumstances or special provision have been accepted), the highest scoring candidate being ranked first, the next highest candidate being ranked second, etc. Applicants will be admitted in rank order, up to the maximum of the school’s admissions number.

If there are more boys who attained the same Standardised Age Score in the GL Entrance Assessment than there are places available, then the criteria below will become sub-criteria and applied successively in the order set out until the final selection is completed.

1. Boys with a brother who is currently a pupil or was a past pupil of the Christian Brothers’ Grammar School Omagh or has been selected for admission to the school in the coming school year.
2. Boys who are from traditional feeder primary schools listed in the table below.
3. Boys who at the date of their application are the eldest of the family to be eligible to apply for admission to the school.
4. Boys who are entitled to Free School Meals. “Entitled to Free School Meals” will mean applicants who are listed on the Education Authority register as entitled to Free School Meals. The last date for parents to communicate to the Education Authority their entitlement to free school meals is no later than 4pm on Thursday 9^th March 2023.
5. Boys with a parent currently on the permanent staff of the Christian Brothers’ Grammar School Omagh or a member of the Board of Governors of the School.
6. Boys who have a parent or grandparent who is a past pupil of the Christian Brothers’ Grammar School Omagh and where verifiable evidence has been submitted.
7. Boys ranked by date of birth as entered on the Birth Certificate with the eldest being admitted first. In the event of two or more boys having the same date of birth and thereby qualifying for the last place(s), the boys will be ranked by alphabetical order of surname and then forenames as listed on the birth certificate.

If, on application of the sub-criteria, there remains oversubscription in the last sub-criterion which can be applied, applicants will be selected for admission on the basis of the initial letter of surname (as entered on the birth certificate or court order) in the order of letters set out below, as determined by a randomised selection:

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 initials of the forenames will be used. Should two or more applicants have the same surname and forename and thereby qualify for the last available place(s), those applicants will be placed in rank order of eldest child by date of birth as stated on their Birth Certificate and admitted in this order.

List of Feeder Primary Schools for the Christian Brothers Omagh

Verification of all Information

The Board of Governors reserves the right to require such supplementary evidence as it may determine to support or verify information on the Transfer Application or appended to the Transfer Application by parents/guardians. For verification purposes original documents are required and not photocopies.

The provision of false or incorrect information or the failure to provide any further requested verifying documents within a deadline set by the Christian Brothers’ Grammar School will result in either the withdrawal of a place or the inability of the school to offer a place.

It is the responsibility of parents/guardians to ensure that:

• The Transfer Application and other necessary documentation is correctly
• Any Special Provision being claimed is properly documented as described below and in the guidance documentation available from our
• The provision of any verification documents required is the responsibility of the Parents/Guardians of the child and should be provided within specified deadlines.

Failure to ensure that this occurs may lead to any request for Special Circumstances not being considered and/or the application not being considered by the Board of Governors and/or the withdrawal of a place in the school.

Special Circumstances

Special Circumstances allow for a post-examination adjustment to the grade and/or the combined Standardised Age Score of a child who is eligible for consideration. Any adjustment to a grade/score will be based on the nature of the Special Circumstances applicable at the time of the test using the grade/score attained on that day.

Applicants claiming that medical or other problems affected the performance of their child in the GL Entrance Assessments should have applied for such on the Form for Special Circumstances (SCR) by 2.00 pm on Wednesday 14th December 2022 to the school and should attach the Special Circumstances Claim Form (SC1) onto the Online Transfer Form at the time of application to the school. The procedure for making an application for Special Circumstances, the guidance booklets and application forms are contained within the Special Circumstances Pack available directly from the school or for download from the school website.

Independent, supporting documentary evidence such as medical or social reports must show that medical or other problems directly influenced the outcome of the GL Entrance Assessment, and that the pupil’s ability is genuinely higher than that indicated by the grade and/or combined Standardised Age Score. Where a problem is a medical one of short-term duration which affected the pupil only at the time of the GL Entrance Assessments, 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 GL Entrance Assessments. Where the problem is of a non-medical nature, the Parents/Guardians must set out the precise details of the problem and append any appropriate independent evidence to the Online Transfer Form.

It is the responsibility of the Parents/Guardians to ensure that information regarding the existence of any relevant factors is given on the Special Circumstances Claim form (SC1). Supporting documentary evidence should also include a report from the Primary School on the applicant’s educational attainment with special reference to English and Mathematics and must include all the pupil’s standardised test results for years 5, 6 and 7, where applicable, in Literacy and Numeracy.

No information will be sought by the school directly from the Primary School.

An applicant who applies for Access Arrangements for the GL Entrance Assessment cannot then apply for Special Circumstances for the same reason.

Special Provision

Special Provision applies to:

1. those pupils moving/recently moved to Northern Ireland whose Parents/Guardians wish them to transfer to post-primary schools from outside Northern Ireland; or
2. pupils who prior to 10^th December 2022 have received more than half of their primary education outside Northern Ireland; or
3. pupils who, due to long-term illness, unforeseen circumstances, serious medical or other problems, were unable to take the GL Entrance Assessment or the Supplementary Entrance Assessment.

For those children for whom Special Provision applies, who are currently in Primary 7 in Northern Ireland, claims for Special Provision must be submitted directly to the School using the SP1 form, no later than 2.00 p.m. on Tuesday 20^th December 2022 and in addition detailed within the Online Transfer Form.

Parents/Guardians moving to Northern Ireland should return the appropriate documentation stating the case for eligibility under this category directly to School as early as possible and no later than 2.00 p.m. on Friday 17th February 2023.

All applicants who meet Special Provision requirements must have an assessment of their academic ability.  The School will arrange and conduct an educational assessment.

If applying for Special Provision, Parents/Guardians must submit on the Online Transfer Form the precise reasons for applying for Special Provision and submit to the school by the date above:

• The copy of the School’s Special Provision Form (SP1), precisely detailing the reasons why the applicant is applying for Special Provision.
• A report (in original form, not a photocopy) from the primary school on the academic ability of the applicant which should include, where possible, all standardised test results in Literacy and Numeracy taken in Primary 5, 6 and 7 together with any recent primary school reports.

It is the responsibility of Parents/Guardians to provide precise reasons why the applicant did not take part in the GL Entrance Assessments and to submit appropriate documentary evidence in support of their claim.

NUMBERS OF APPLICATIONS AND ADMISSIONS

*Total Admissions includes statemented pupils and/or pupils admitted following an appeal.

Admissions Criteria for Years 9 and upwards are available by contacting the school.