The Evolution of Academic Selection in Northern Ireland

Almost all countries throughout the world have in place various means of academically sorting students that in most cases occurs at the higher educational level. In the main, those students who achieve the highest scores in externally devised examinations have a greater choice of what higher education course they wish to pursue. However, in Northern Ireland, there also exists a unique situation whereby primary school students also sit a highly competitive examination referred to as the 11 plus examination in order to gain entry into what is referred to as a selective grammar school. The purpose of this chapter is to provide an overview of the cause and effect of maintaining such a sorting and testing regime that has almost vanished from other regions education systems. The chapter begins by providing an overview of the establishment of Academic selection in Northern Ireland from 1947 to present which is subsequently followed by a review of the literature relating to the benefits and limitations of Academic Selection. The penultimate section provides an overview of the impact of and unintended consequences of Academic Selection and concludes with a discussion and analysis of the place of Academic Selection in Northern Irelands Education system.