Admisssions

Year 8

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Following the closure of the online post-primary application process, St. Patrick's Grammar School Downpatrick can confirm that the following randomly selected order will be used at Criteria (f) in the event that the admission number has been exceeded.

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I O’ M Mc H T Y Q V X Mac B A K C U L F S E O W N P D R J G Z 

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The Eldest Boy Verification Certificate must be completed and submitted with the Transfer Application. It must be signed by one of the following who knows the child and family for at least two years and is not a member of the applicant's family:

• a primary school Principal

• an elected public representative 

• a medical practitioner

• a lawyer

• a member of the clergy

Please note that if you have already uploaded your application via the EA Admissions Portal, please email the completed Verification Certificate to and this will be attached to the application form once it is received from EA.

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The 2020/21 school year has been severely disrupted due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

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This has created a range of challenges for those working in primary and post-primary education. School principals, teaching, learning support staff and Boards of Governors have been working tirelessly to minimise the impact of this sustained interruption to the education of the children in our schools.

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In May 2020, some grammar schools announced they would not be using academic selection as part of their admissions criteria for September 2021.

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In June 2020, as part of contingency planning, several voluntary grammar schools decided to examine other selection options open to the schools should normal assessments be halted due to an extension of the Covid-19 health restrictions.  This work continued through the autumn and has included seeking input from primary schools.

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Since then, we participated in range of discussions and engagement with other Catholic principals from both primary and grammar schools.  We have exhausted that process and thank all those involved.

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Our overriding objective is to ensure that any alternative arrangements for dealing with the admissions criteria in these unique and unprecedented conditions should be as fair as possible.

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Having extensively explored every potential option and given the disparity in the range of information available from Primary schools, and having sought legal advice, the schools involved decided not to use academic selection as part of the school admissions criteria for September 2021.

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This has been an extraordinary and abnormal school year and therefore it was agreed that such a challenging learning environment would require an exceptional and one-off response reflecting the unique circumstances of this time. 

However, we firmly believe that the fairest means of selecting children for oversubscribed schools is by way of testing.  If anything, the very difficult and trying circumstances of recent weeks and months have reinforced this conviction.  We therefore intend to return to this fair and equitable means of selection for the intake of September 2022.

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Years 9-12

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Admission to another year is dependent on spaces available. If you are interested or require further information, please contact us. 

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Year 13

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If you are considering joining our Sixth Form in September 2021, please click here to express your interest. 

If you require further information, please contact us.