11 Plus Schools

11 Plus in Northern Ireland

The 11 Plus was officially discontinued in Northern Ireland, but has re-emerged as a different selective process. The original political intention had been to introduce fully comprehensive education in the region, but there was a fierce backlash from both grammar schools and parents to the imposition of what they described as a “one size fits all educational system”.

From the chaos some degree of order has been created, at least for the time being. Two consortia of schools have emerged: the Association for Quality Education (AQE), and another grouping known as the Post Primary Transfer Consortium, which is driven mainly by the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools (CCMS). The entrance tests for the two consortiums differ, and there is a brief summary of both below.

The Post Primary Transfer Consortium

  1. The test is set by GL Assessment (formerly NFER).
  2. There is no charge to parents for their child to take the test.
  3. Testing will take place on 20 November 2010
  4. Results will be published in February 2011 and will be graded A, B1, B2, C1, C2 or D.

The test will comprise:

  1. English: A 50 minute multiple choice paper of 65 questions, including 3 comprehension passages.
  2. Maths: A 45 minute multiple choice paper of 45 questions.
  3. There will be a short practice paper before each main paper, and a short break between papers.
  4. Papers will be marked by an optical reader.

Practice materials for the test are available from our LINK bookshop.

The Association for Quality Education

  1. The test has been devised by AQE and there are sample papers available on their website.
  2. There is a charge of £35 for each child taking the test, although this is waived for children in receipt of free school meals.
  3. There are three test dates: Saturday 13th November 2010, Saturday 27th November 2010 & Saturday 4th December 2010
  4. The date for publication of results is not known.

The test will comprise:

  1. English – a poem and a prose passage
    will sit up to three tests in English and Maths.
  2. English (Poem, Prose Passage), Maths and Basic Skills.
  3. A sample paper is available on the AQE website.
  4. Papers will be marked by hand.

A further six practice papers have been published by the Belfast Telegraph. These claim to be appropriate for both the consortia tests, but we advises some caution in using them, because the two tests do differ slightly in content and standard.

Schools in the Post Primary Transfer Consortium

Schools in the AQE Consortium

Belfast Area

North Eastern Area

South Eastern Area

Western Area

Southern Area

Page updated on 19 November 2010

N Ireland 11 Plus Forum…

Practice Options

Mathematics Practice

THE TUTORS - MATHEMATICS - VOLUME 1 - MULTIPLE CHOICE PRACTICE QUESTIONS

£19.95

Related Links

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