Editing Grammar school (section)

===Northern Ireland===
{{See also|List of grammar schools in Northern Ireland}}
Attempts to move to a comprehensive system (as in the rest of the United Kingdom) have been delayed by shifts in the administration of [[Northern Ireland]].
As a result, Northern Ireland still maintains the grammar school system, with many pupils being entered for academic selection exams similar to the 11-plus. Since the "open enrolment" reform of 1989, these schools (unlike those in England) have been required to accept pupils up to their capacity, which has also increased.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Eric Maurin |author2=Sandra McNally |date=August 2007 |title=Educational Effects of Widening Access to the Academic Track: A Natural Experiment |url=http://cee.lse.ac.uk/cee%20dps/ceedp85.pdf |journal=[[London School of Economics]] |publisher=Centre for the Economics of Education, [[London School of Economics]], Discussion Paper 85 |access-date=4 April 2008 |archive-date=3 October 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081003105858/http://cee.lse.ac.uk/cee%20dps/ceedp85.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> By 2006, the 69 grammar schools took 42% of transferring children, and only 7 of them took all of their intake from the top 30% of the cohort.<ref>{{cite web
 |title=Education Minister's Statement for the Stormont Education Committee 
 |author=Caitríona Ruane 
 |date=31 January 2008 |url=http://www.deni.gov.uk/index/85-schools/6-admission-and-choice/statement_for_the_education_committee_48_kb_.pdf 
 |access-date=4 April 2008 |url-status=dead 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081003105901/http://www.deni.gov.uk/index/85-schools/6-admission-and-choice/statement_for_the_education_committee_48_kb_.pdf 
 |archive-date=3 October 2008
}}</ref>
[[File:Coleraine Academical Institution.jpg|thumb|[[Coleraine Academical Institution]] (1860)]]
The 11-plus has long been controversial, and Northern Ireland's political parties have taken opposing positions. Unionists tend to lean towards preserving the grammar schools as they are, with academic selection at the age of 11, whereas nationalist politicians lean towards scrapping the 11-plus, despite vehement protestations from the majority of Catholic Grammar Schools, most notably by the board of governors at [[Rathmore Grammar School]] in Finaghy, (a South Belfast suburb) and Lumen Christi (although co-educational) in Derry. 

The [[Democratic Unionist Party]] claimed to have ensured the continuation of the grammar school system in the province as part of the [[St Andrews Agreement]] in October 2006. By contrast, [[Sinn Féin]] claims to have secured the abolition of the 11-plus and a veto over any system which might follow it.

The last government-run 11-plus exam was held in 2008 (for 2009 entry),<ref>{{cite press release
 |title=Minister Ruane outlines education reforms 
 |date=4 December 2007 |publisher=Department of Education, Northern Ireland 
 |url=http://www.northernireland.gov.uk/news/news-de/news-de-041207-minister-ruane-outlines.htm 
 |url-status=dead 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081201094535/http://www.northernireland.gov.uk/news/news-de/news-de-041207-minister-ruane-outlines.htm 
 |archive-date=1 December 2008 }}</ref> but the [[Northern Ireland Assembly]] has not been able to agree on a replacement system for secondary transfer. The grammar schools have organised groupings to run their own tests, the Post-Primary Transfer Consortium (mostly Catholic schools) and the Association for Quality Education.<ref>{{cite news
 |title='Test' schools accept D grade pupils 
 |first=Lisa 
 |last=Smith 
 |date=17 December 2007 |work=Belfast Telegraph 
 |url=http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/education/test-schools-accept-d-grade-pupils-13503064.html
|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130419193405/http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/education/test-schools-accept-d-grade-pupils-13503064.html
|url-status=dead
|archive-date=19 April 2013
}}</ref><ref>{{cite news
| title = Schools guard against test cheats
| work  = BBC | date = 28 April 2009 | first = Maggie | last = Taggart
| url   = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/8023338.stm
}}</ref><ref>{{cite news
 |title=Parents put their faith in new entrance tests 
 |work=Belfast Telegraph 
 |date=22 August 2009 |first=Kathryn 
 |last=Torney 
 |url=http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/education/post-primary-selection/parents-put-their-faith-in-new-entrance-tests-14351100.html
|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130419204924/http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/education/post-primary-selection/parents-put-their-faith-in-new-entrance-tests-14351100.html
|url-status=dead
|archive-date=19 April 2013
}}</ref>
The Northern Ireland Commission for Catholic Education did accept continued selection at Catholic grammar schools as a temporary measure, anticipating them to end the practice by 2012.<ref>{{cite news
| title = The Minister is losing control of the schools transfer system
| first = Kathryn | last = Torney
| work  = Belfast Telegraph | date = 3 March 2009
| url   = http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/education/the-minister-is-losing-control-of-the-schools-transfer-system-14249995.html
}}</ref><ref>{{cite news
| title = Professor Tony Gallagher, head of the School of Education at Queen's, answers readers' queries....
| work  = Belfast Telegraph | date = 10 August 2009
| url   = http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/education/professor-tony-gallagher-head-of-the-school-of-education-at-queenrsquos-answers-readersrsquo-queries-14448449.html
}}</ref> As of September 2019, the practice continues.