Admissions Advice and Guidance

1. New Procedure for Requesting Extra Sixth Form Places For Year 2011/12

The letter at the link below outlines a new procedure for the year 2011/12 for requesting extra sixth form places. For schools likely to be oversubscribed when receiving Year 13 applications this August, this letter is a follow-up to meetings held with a number of such schools in the week commencing 4 April 2011.

Letter to schools on changes to 6th form admissions procedures for the 2011/12 school year PDF 334KB

2. Transfer from Primary to Post-Primary School

Follow the link entitled Post-Primary Transfer on the left hand side of this page for detailed information about Post-Primary Transfer arrangements.

3. Exceptional Circumstances Body

The Department has established an independent Exceptional Circumstances Body to consider exceptional post-primary admissions cases. Further information and an application form can be found on the nidirect website

4. Primary  School Admissions

Circular 2011/13 Open Enrolment in Primary Schools Arrangements for September 2012 admissions PDF 996KB (English)

Circular 2011/13 Open Enrolment in Primary Schools Arrangements for September 2012 admissions PDF 1.06MB (Irish)

This circular sets out for Principals and Boards of Governors of schools the arrangements for admission of pupils to grant aided primary schools.

A timetable for the 2012/13 admissions process is included.

Schools in the North are currently required by law to give priority to children resident in the North. This requirement is currently under review.

5. Pre-School / Nursery Admissions

The Department has published a revised Nursery Admissions Circular. It should be noted that in Annex 1 dates have been revised to take account of the two stage admissions procedure.

Circular 2011/12 Open Enrolment in Nursery Schools Arrangements for September 2012 Admissions PDF 715KB (English)

Circular 2011/12 Open Enrolment in Nursery Schools Arrangements for September 2012 admissions PDF 787KB (Irish)

This circular advises Principals and Boards of Governors of schools of the arrangements for the application of Open Enrolment procedures to Nursery Schools and Nursery Classes in primary schools which will apply for the 2012/13 school year. A timetable for the 2012/13 arrangements is included. Please note revised timetable for 2012/13.

Schools in the North are currently required by law to give priority to children resident in the North. This requirement is currently under review.

6. Revised Procedures for Admissions Complaints to DE Post-Years 1 and 8

The purpose of this letter is to provide updated procedures which schools should use with respect to applications for admissions to take place after 1 July 2010 when parents complain against the decision of a grant-aided school to refuse their child admission post-years 1 and 8.

Revised Procedures for Admissions Complaints to DE Post-Years 1 and 8 PDF 358KB

Irish version of complaint letters and forms PDF 179KB

English version of complaint letters and forms PDF 150KB

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For further information on how to obtain hard copies or electronic versions in a format other than PDF, please follow the contact us link at the top of the page.