Open Evening
Thursday 25th Jan | 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Year 8 Admissions
Admissions will be determined by a designated sub-committee of the Board of Governors, which shall include the Principal. The Board of Governors reserves the right to require such supplementary evidence as it may determine to support or verify information on the Transfer Application. You may be required to present verification documents after your child has been offered a place at the School, at the sole discretion of the Board of Governors. Original documents are required and not digital copies or photocopies. The provision of false or incorrect information or the failure to provide verifying documents according to the required deadline may result in either the withdrawal of a place or the inability of the school to offer a place.
Transfer Procedure 2024
In the event of the school being over-subscribed, a pupil will be admitted according to the following criteria, applied in the order set down:
1. Children who have a child of the family* currently enrolled at the school (applicants should record on the Transfer Application the name of the child and date of enrolment at the school), or children whose parent/carer is a permanent employee of the school.
2. Children who have had a child of the family* who attended the school. Applicants should record on the Transfer Form the name of the child and date he/she left Saintfield High School.
3. Children who are the eldest child(ren) of the family* (where applicable, twins (or other multiples) will be treated as joint eldest), or the first child of the family to transfer to a non-selective school (verification maybe required) and who attends a traditional contributory primary school (see list of feeder schools below)
4. Academy, Saintfield, Alexander Dickson, Anahilt, Andrews Memorial, Ballynahinch, Cairnshill, Carr, Carrickmannon, Carryduff, Cedar Integrated, Comber, Derryboy, Downpatrick, Drumlins Integrated, Glasswater, Killinchy, Killyleagh, Knockbreda, Millennium Integrated, Moneyrea, St Mary’s, Comber and Spa.
5. Children who attend a feeder/named primary school (see list of schools above) and who list Saintfield High School as their first preference post-primary school on the Transfer Form.
6. All other children.
If, following the application of the above criteria in order, there comes a point where there are more children who meet a particular criterion than there are spaces available, priority will be given to children:
A – Who list Saintfield High School as their first preference post primary school then;
B – For whom Saintfield High School is the nearest suitable school as measured by the Ordnance Survey web distance measurement tool.
*Child of the family as defined in DE Circular 2022/15: The Procedure for Transfer from Primary to Post Primary Education, Annex 2, Paragraph 3.
When considering which children should be selected for admission, the Board of Governors will only take into account information which is detailed on, or attached to the Transfer Application, relating to the set criteria. Parents/carers should therefore ensure that all information pertaining to their child and relevant to the school’s admissions criteria is stated on the Transfer Application or attached to it.
Year 8 Waiting List
Applicants who did not gain a place in Saintfield High School as part of the transfer procedure will automatically be placed in rank order upon the school’s admissions waiting list after 1 September 2023.
Should a place become available after 1 September 2023, priority will be given to those applicants who have named Saintfield High School as their first preference post primary school. In the event of a place becoming available the School will contact the applicant’s parent/carer to arrange an interview with the Principal or Vice-Principal. New applications for Year 8 will be added to the waiting list in rank order after applying the admissions criteria.
At the end of Year 8 the School will contact all applicants’ parents/carers on the waiting list to determine whether they wish to remain on the waiting list. Those applicants wishing to remain on the waiting list will be dealt with according to the criteria listed in Admission to Saintfield High School other than at the Customary Transfer Stage.
Thoughts from a Year 8 Mum and Dad
