New Research Paper Claims Academic Selection Traumatic For Children

According to a briefing paper from Ulster University’s (UU) Unesco Education Centre, academic selection is traumatic for many children, creating damage which often endures into adulthood.

The paper argues that academic selection benefits a few generally already privileged pupils while damaging the life-chances of a large proportion of the school population.

Most Northern Ireland grammar schools use tests run by the AQE and PPTC to select pupils.

However, the tests were cancelled in 2021 due to disruption caused by the Covid pandemic.

One Belfast grammar school, St Mary’s Christian Brothers, recently said it would not use academic selection to admit pupils in 2022.

Researchers from the Unesco Centre of Education at UU have produced a number of briefing papers which examine aspects of Northern Ireland’s education system.

They trace the origins of the current form of academic selection back to the Northern Ireland Education Act of 1947.