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 VideoBBC News' Sue Littlemore: New study questions validity of education system  real 28k |
Questions over 11-plus exams
Rick Kinirons has been having extra tuition
By BBC Education Correspondent Sue Littlemore
Thousands of schoolchildren in Northern Ireland are sitting their 11-plus exams on Friday - but an official report suggests that the selective education system favours those from better-off families.
Northern Ireland was the only part of the UK to retain a system of grammar and secondary modern schools when almost all education authorities went comprehensive in the 1970s.
This means that if children pass the 11-plus exam they will go to a grammar school and if they fail they will attend a so-called 'secondary' school.
"I don't think it's fair because you might not do good on the day, even if you have been doing good on the tests in school," said 11-year-old Rick Kinirons, who willl go to one of the best grammar schools in Belfast if he passes.
Tutoring industry
But 50 years of the 11-plus has kept one industry going across Northern Ireland - private tutoring.
But at about �15 an hour, not everyone can afford it. It tends to be the preserve of the middle classes.
"A child, or a child's parents, can be pressurised into having a tutor when they don't really need one," said Rick's tutor, Rosemary Vance.
"But if everybody else in the class is being tutored, they'll feel at a disadvantage."
Defenders of academic selection have argued that grammar schools offer bright children from working class homes a 'ladder of opportunity'.
But new research has shed doubt on that. Academics commissioned by Northern Ireland ministers argue in their interim report that selection simply reinforces class differences.
"Two thirds or more of the students in grammar schools are from middle class backgrounds and about two thirds or more of students in secondary schools are from working class backgrounds," said Tony Gallagher, Professor of Education at Queen's University, Belfast.
"So to that extent ... the claim or the promise of social mobility from a selective system has been called into question."
Many parents do not like a system which labels children successes or failures at the age of 11, but they are also loathe to risk a change which might wipe out some extremely successful grammar schools.
Belfast's Methodist College is one such school. The headmaster, Wilfred Mulryne, argues that a grammar school system is not unique in appearing to favour the middle classes.
"Whatever system one has, those who come from more advantaged backgrounds will do better, in academic terms, than those who come from less advantaged backgrounds," he said.
"That is as true of a comprehensive system as it is of a selective system."
Many families in Northern Ireland feel selection is far from ideal. But as thousands of 11-year-olds anticipate the 11-plus on Friday, the case for change has not yet been made.
The final report from the research into the selective system is due to be published in the New Year.
Thousands of schoolchildren in Northern Ireland are sitting their 11-plus exams on Friday - but an official report suggests that the selective education system favours those from better-off families.
Northern Ireland was the only part of the UK to retain a system of grammar and secondary modern schools when almost all education authorities went comprehensive in the 1970s.
This means that if children pass the 11-plus exam they will go to a grammar school and if they fail they will attend a so-called 'secondary' school.
"I don't think it's fair because you might not do good on the day, even if you have been doing good on the tests in school," said 11-year-old Rick Kinirons, who willl go to one of the best grammar schools in Belfast if he passes.
Tutoring industry
But 50 years of the 11-plus has kept one industry going across Northern Ireland - private tutoring.
But at about �15 an hour, not everyone can afford it. It tends to be the preserve of the middle classes.
 Rosemary Vance: "Tutoring may not be necessary" |
"But if everybody else in the class is being tutored, they'll feel at a disadvantage."
Defenders of academic selection have argued that grammar schools offer bright children from working class homes a 'ladder of opportunity'.
But new research has shed doubt on that. Academics commissioned by Northern Ireland ministers argue in their interim report that selection simply reinforces class differences.
"Two thirds or more of the students in grammar schools are from middle class backgrounds and about two thirds or more of students in secondary schools are from working class backgrounds," said Tony Gallagher, Professor of Education at Queen's University, Belfast.
 Tony Gallagher: Questions |
Many parents do not like a system which labels children successes or failures at the age of 11, but they are also loathe to risk a change which might wipe out some extremely successful grammar schools.
Belfast's Methodist College is one such school. The headmaster, Wilfred Mulryne, argues that a grammar school system is not unique in appearing to favour the middle classes.
 Wilfred Mulryne: "Any system favours better off" |
"That is as true of a comprehensive system as it is of a selective system."
Many families in Northern Ireland feel selection is far from ideal. But as thousands of 11-year-olds anticipate the 11-plus on Friday, the case for change has not yet been made.
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