Belfast schools

I've 3 kids - 2 in grammar (funny enough very near Finaghy) and one in primary school still. My youngest is in between your two. Your primary school choice will be based on your catchment area, depends obviously on spaces. My older kids both travel to school, in fact most kids I know travel to their preferred post primary school.
Mine sit both the AQE and GL exams. Obviously schools have feeder primary schools but the exam result is usually the top criteria and then primary schools etc are used further down the criteria lists. We're coming to the end of open days for post primary at the minute, transfer test results are out this weekend.

I know lots of people I went to school with who have moved back or are in the process of moving back, as soon as their kids hit a few years before secondary education the call back seems to be stronger .
And yes homework is king from the start of primary school to the end. The key year as mentioned is P6. The transfer tests are all done by mid Dec of P7.

Grammar school places can be like hens teeth even with the results. I know 2 kids that didn't get into Aquinas this year with As. My kids did really well and I still put four schools down and my second one had a sibling there already. There is some movement around the start of years 10 and 11 ( 3rd and 4th year in old money).

http://www.lagancollege.com/admissions/
Maybe this will help. Children come from all over both the city and outside it to Lagan because of its reputation and integrated education status ( outside NI just known as "normal" education!🤣) disclosure: my two both go there, one studying gcse one A levels. V different people, both achieving well, both very happy, and living about 17 miles from the school. Although difficult to get into (should def be placed first on your list to have a chance) places do seem to crop up through the years. From my observation this has been due to children whose parents are in NI for periods for work then leave the country. They cater very well for all children with an enormous range of both academic and vocational courses. Sorry it sounds like they're paying me! Truly though , with two very different children it has suited our family so well! My husband and I both educated at single sex Catholic grammar schools ( very high achieving and difficult to gain entry to) and this inclusive form of education is just heaven to us! However I'm sure every parent will have wonderful stories of their DCs schools too. Good luck with the move.

Depends where you would be living and whether the primary school you get them into is a feeder school for those. We are in Newtownbreda and in the catchment area for both Aquinas and Lagan, and our primary school is a feeder school. An A grade in the the GL is needed for entry into Aquinas and even then some applicants don’t get it, depends on other criteria too. We were told to put down at least 4 or 5 schools on the application form. I have heard that you should put Lagan first on the form if you want to have a chance to get it. You can mark your application “grammar stream” if that’s what you are aiming for, I’m not sure if the next grammar school on your list would then be considered if your child didn’t get into the grammar stream at Lagan or if the all-ability stream at Lagan would be considered before that. Joining the FB group is your best bet, they are very knowledgeable 😀 Good luck!

Agree with motherofdoodles that Lagan sounds like the best fit I can think of.

Would highly recommend Lagan College. It is popular and for good reason. Integrated in all ways, religion, gender and has a grammar "stream" . Entrance for this stream can be via the AQE/GL exams. Perfect school for total family inclusion. Also has super facilities, possibly due to its integrated status.

Oh and my kids had homework from P1 and it is taken very seriously by all.

A lot of the exam prep also takes place in the equivalent of Y5, my nephews in state school P6 are already in the thick of it.

I like the traditional approach because my husband and I responded very well to exams. However our alternatives were either a bad state school where we were in London or a series of very pushy, expensive private schools that test aggressively the children applying before they begin. So NI grammars seem like a good compromise for us - excellent education, a good choice of schools, but yes, academic in approach.

The benefit of NI is also that if working less and commuting less, theres more time and energy to get out walking, to the beach, get a dog, do creative or active pursuits etc.

In NI we are very fortunate that most secondary schools are very good. However, in the areas you are looking at (South/East Belfast) there are less good non-grammar options for boys. Ashfield Boys High gets a good name, as does Lagan College, but both are massively oversubscribed. In Newtonbreda, the main high school is Breda Academy and it doesn’t have the best reputation in terms of academic achievement or behaviour.

There are lots of great grammar schools in these areas though - RBAI (Inst), Methody, Wellington and Campbell College (the latter charges around £3000 per year). You will likely be exempt from having to sit the AQE/GL transfer tests, but the schools might want evidence of academic achievement. If you are on a Facebook, join the AQE and GL support group - there have been similar posts from people in the same boat as you.

I’m from there, haven’t lived there for 10 years but a lot of friends do. There is still a massive gulf between secondaries and grammars. If your children are bright you really want them in one of the grammar schools.