Mum brands AQE heartless over one transfer test plan
The private firm cancelled its January exams then said they will host one in February
For some children worries about the Transfer Test can be too much to cope with
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The chair of Stormont’s Education Committee has said the Education Minister has failed thousands of primary school children as they prepare to sit the first transfer test on Saturday.
The first of three AQE exams papers will be sat by around 8,000 P7 pupils on Saturday, despite calls for the tests to be postponed or cancelled as schools move to remote learning as the number of Covid cases in the community continues to soar. Read More
Pupils hoping to attend grammar schools in Northern Ireland will sit two further AQE papers on January 16 and January 23, while transfer tests run by the Post Primary Transfer Consortium (PPTC) are due to take place on January 30.
Alarm over transfer test plans 03 January, 2021 01:00
While there are sincere and informed voices on all sides in the debate over post-primary transfer arrangements, it has been clear for some time that momentum is shifting decisively away from the staging of private tests.
There was widespread relief last summer when a range of grammar schools, mainly in the Catholic sector, said that they were temporarily suspending the use of academic criteria for admissions, due to serious concerns over the coronavirus crisis.
However, to the surprise of many observers, the Association for Quality Education (AQE), announced on Friday that it intended to proceed with a series of independent tests beginning this Saturday, January 9, even though primary school pupils are being taught remotely throughout this week.
BBC News
Published
image captionSchools did not close early ahead of Christmas
NI Education Minister Peter Weir has said all schools and other education settings will reopen in the first week of January.
He said his main priority has always been to protect our children s education, mental health and wellbeing .
It will begin on 26 December, with non-essential shops closing after Christmas Eve.
Schools reopened in August having been closed since March and have remained open since with the exception of an extended two-week break for half term.
They did not close early ahead of the Christmas holidays.
Mr Weir said he was mindful of the impact the pandemic is having on our children and young people, particularly those who are vulnerable and from disadvantaged backgrounds .