Association for Quality Education Limited

CEA

Common Entrance Assessment

A Guide for Parents

From 2009 pupils will no longer sit the 11 plus examinations. Any child entering P7 in 2009 who wishes to apply to any of the schools listed above should sit the Common Entrance Assessment (CEA).

It is the responsibility of parents to ensure that the CEA application form is completed.

Please read this document carefully before making your decision.

  AQE Office: 3/17 Cliftonville Road, Belfast, BT14 6JL

Email: aqeoffice1@yahoo.co.uk Website: www.aqe.org.uk

 CEA: A Guide for Parents 

Please note that while every effort has been made to present accurate information in this guide, some of the details may be subject to revision.  

1. What is the Common Entrance Assessment? The CEA is the method which the grammar schools listed below will use to facilitate the continuation of academic selection following the ending of the 11+ transfer tests.  

2. Why is the CEA necessary? Schools are legally entitled to include an assessment of academic ability in their menu of criteria for admission. The Minister of Education, Ms Ruane, ended the 11+ but refused to offer an alternative method of selection. Without some form of selection grammar schools would become all-ability comprehensives. The schools named here have adopted the CEA to fill the vacuum and to avoid children being asked to sit a series of tests in different schools.  

3. Which schools are participating? Schools offering the CEA are listed on the front cover and below:

 4. Will all children have to sit the CEA? No. Only those hoping to be admitted to one of the schools on the above list will have to sit the CEA.

 5. What will be the format of the CEA? The CEA will be based on three one-hour tests which take account of the English and Maths components of the present primary school curriculum. Only marks in the better two will count. If they wish, parents may elect to enter their child for only two of the three tests. Unlike the 11+, there will not be a supplementary test.

 6. What have parents to do if they wish to enter their child for the CEA? They will have to register an application with AQE. Forms will be available in the final term of the P6 year from the participating schools and may be downloaded from the AQE website.  Forms may also be available from some primary schools.  Advice about completion will be available if required.

 7. Will there be a charge? A fee of £35 to cover costs of administration will be payable at the time of registration. This will apply irrespective of whether the child is being entered for two or three tests. The fee will be waived if the registration form is accompanied by proof that the child is entitled to free school meals.

 8. When will the CEA be held? The tests will take place on November 14 th and 28th and December 5th, 2009.

 9. Where will the CEA be held? Pupils will sit the tests in the participating grammar schools. Parents will be asked by AQE to list, in order of preference, three schools at which they would like their child to sit the tests. If any special arrangements are required in order to access the tests, this should be indicated at the time of registration and in such cases parents will be advised of the arrangements that can be made.

 10. Will it not be particularly stressful for pupils to sit the tests in the surroundings of grammar schools with which they are unfamiliar? Once parents are advised where their child will sit the CEA, there will be an opportunity to visit the school, see where the tests will take place and be briefed on arrangements.

 11. Why are there three papers? There are three papers to give pupils the best opportunity to display their abilities and reduce the chances of them not doing themselves justice by having “an off day” when one of the tests is held.

 12. Will the CEA be available in the Irish language? Yes. Parents will have the opportunity to indicate on the Registration Form that they wish their child to sit the CEA in Irish.

 13. Will there be any provision for Special Circumstances? Yes. Many circumstances will be accounted for by discounting the test in which the pupil gains the lowest mark; however, any parents who feel that there are other reasons warranting consideration, should read carefully the requirements set out in the criteria for the grammar schools concerned. Each school will consider claims and will decide on the validity of each case. It will be essential that medical evidence, educational evidence etc are provided at the correct time and in the format required. The Board of Governors from the receiving schools will look at the evidence and make their decisions.

 14. How has the CEA been designed? The CEA has been designed employing procedures similar to those used for “A” levels, having a chief examiner with extensive knowledge of test design, together with a team of revisers who are teaching professionals at primary level with long experience of preparing pupils for the 11+.

 15. Will primary schools prepare pupils for the CEA? AQE has not produced any specific preparation material beyond the sample questions available on the website, for we are keen that the assessments will be accessible to all young people from the normal classroom teaching; however parents seeking such material may obtain it from commercial companies (information about what might be appropriate may be available from AQE). Any questions from the Northern Ireland 11+, excluding the science element, also remain appropriate.

 16. How will parents be informed of the outcome of the CEA? AQE will inform parents in February of the marks gained by their child and, provided they have indicated agreement when registering, will also inform schools to which they apply for admission and those primary schools which have requested the information.

 17. What is the procedure parents have to follow after they have been informed of the marks? The process will be very similar to what has happened in previous years. All post-primary schools will be required to publish a menu of their admissions criteria. Schools participating in the CEA will indicate how the results will be applied within their individual framework. Parents will nominate their post-primary choices in order of preference and submit their application to the relevant Education and Library Board. Schools which are oversubscribed – i.e. they have more applications than places available – will apply their published criteria to determine their intake. Admission numbers and total enrolment for each school will continue to be set by the Department of Education.

 18. Will children who have a statement of special educational needs have to sit the CEA if they are to be considered for a grammar school? No, as at present this decision will be made in conjunction with parents, the relevant Education and Library Board and the receiving school.

 19. Will children, other than children with a statement of special educational needs, be considered for a school participating in the CEA if they have not sat the CEA? Parents should consult the admissions criteria of the schools to which they wish to have their child admitted. The CEA will be used to determine which applicants best satisfy a school’s academic criteria. As with the 11+, however, there will be a small number of exceptional circumstances in which this will not be the case. These will be explained in the criteria of individual schools. Since the 2006 Education Order requires all schools to fill to their enrolment, schools will be required to allocate places using other criteria in the unlikely event that they receive insufficient applications from pupils who have sat the CEA.

 20. What will be the position in regard to children with disabilities?

There will be Access arrangements for these children to enable them to sit the CEA. Instructions are given in Section B in the Guidance Notes on the Registration Form.