St Columb’s College.
St Columb’s College and Thornhill College said they had made the move for one year only, as as result of the Coronavirus pandemic.
Nine other Catholic grammars in the North of Ireland had previously taken a similar decision.
All of the schools had used the GL Assessment test run by the Post-Primary Transfer Consortium (PPTC) to select pupils.
In a joint letter to parents, guardians and carers the governors and principals of both schools said that they had “reflected carefully on the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 crisis” on the local community.
Thornhill College is a girls’ grammar school with 1,400 pupils.
Its past pupils include the writer of Derry Girls, Lisa McGee, who set the hit series in a fictionalised version of the school.
The boys’ grammar St Columb’s College has a similar number of pupils.
Former pupils at the school include Seamus Heaney, John Hume, Brian Friel and Martin O’Neill.
Both schools admit about 200 pupils a year.
Bishop Donal McKeown of Derry had previously sent a letter to the area’s grammar schools in his role as a trustee of Catholic schools in the diocese, asking them to consider alternative admissions arrangements for 2021.
The other Catholic grammar in the city, Lumen Christi College, has not yet announced whether it will make a similar decision.
None of the 34 schools who use the AQE transfer test have yet indicated that they will not use it to select pupils for 2021
They also said that “there could very well be further disruption for Primary Seven pupils during the first term of the 2020-21 academic year”.
The heads and governors then said that in response to the “exceptional circumstances” they would not use “academic criteria” for admissions to Year Eight in September 2021.
Pupils applying to transfer to the schools next year will not therefore have to provide a test result.
Tags: