Worth noting that today saw more than 7000 children take the first of the new privatised post-primary transfer tests. As the BBC report notes
Next Saturday, 6,700 pupils will take a different test aimed mainly at those seeking places in Catholic grammars.
The oft-quoted verse from the book of Proverbs, ‘where there is no vision, the people perish,’ (chapter 29, verse 18) opens a new book by Gerry O’Hanlon, A New Vision for the Catholic Church: A View from Ireland (Columba Press, 2011). That verse could be considered an apt summary of the current state of the [...] read our review »
The nod and wink politics of Ireland’s last two or three decades as practised par excellence by Bertie, Albert and Charlie is ultimately what has the Republic in the stew it’s in. Don’t get me wrong, the effective monitoring of those exercising of power does not demand full disclosure of everything all the time. But [...] read our review »
Protestant Grammar Schools…Catholic Grammar Schools, bah.
Schools in NI should be secularised immediately and religion droven from the schools. We need the desegregation of our schools, maybe getting rid of selection may make this easier.
But I would say that desegregation of schools is not in the minds of the DUP or SF.
At this stage Ruane must surely be looking at removing their funding? Easiest way, if they are spending money and time on things outside Departmental direction they have stepped into the realm of being private schools and should surely operate as such.
It is to be hoped that, this time next year, there will be an agreed test by / for all of the Grammar Schools.
Mark McGregor: Easiest way, if they are spending money and time on things outside Departmental direction they have stepped into the realm of being private schools and should surely operate as such.
There are no rules to say that the schools should not be selecting pupils on academic ability.
Maybe next year, if Ruane can get something past the executive?
Ruane needs a Saturday night detention at that school of big ideas called Stormont.
The collapse of the academic selection in the north of Ireland begins today.
Who is paying for the invigilators, light and heating,caretakers,postage and marking of all this subversion? I hope it’s not coming out of the school budget.