Secondary school Belfast

[bigdecisions24]

I'm looking for advise/recommendations re secondary school’s in Belfast.
We are in the early stages of planning a move from London ( to South Belfast specifically) and need to find a school for DS currently yr9.
Have absolutely no clue where to start re schools as no contacts in NI.
He is currently at an all boys catholic school. He is reasonably outgoing and confident, quite academic but not sporty.
Are there any obvious choices we should consider equally places to avoid?
Worried his English accent may make him an easy target for teasing/ bullying.
Would really appreciate any insight

@Dominicains if you'd have made the move would your dc not have moved to top of the list as they didn't have a school place rather than another child who did?

Not what the EA told me and absolutely no chance of getting into a grammar. The EA woman told me that they would place him at the nearest school within 15 miles of our address that had a space and given the allocation of places in the Covid year, they even suggested Abbey College as the crow flies from H’wood. Holywood Priory would have had to apply for a variation in numbers but no guarantee (and he hated it when we visited - for me it was just Holywood High of old, living in the hope of the move to Redburn that has been on the cards since I was at school…) Absolutely not a gamble I was willing to take with his education.

Not only the Covid year but also a very high birth rate year, which won’t have helped @Dominicains I have DCs around that age below and a number of Belfast schools had an exceptional increase in places to accommodate the numbers. Although having moved around that age as well I’m not sure staying put will be the worst thing for your DS.

Check out St. Malachy's. It's a single sex, Catholic grammar school with a great ethos, academic focus and good pastoral care.

Hi OP, we're about to make the same move! How did you get on with a school for your son? It's hard to know where to start, we've contacted all the schools we like but they are all full!!
Would love to know if you feel you made the right move

Feel your pain Dominicains. Get your point, if you move to Belfast you are incredibly lucky to get a school place at a grammar.
We decided to move here late Aug and arrived just as the schools had started in Sep. Must say they took us slightly more serious as we were physically here. Checked a dozen and all full. Most schools have such a long list of reserves they no longer operate one (e.g Friends in Lisburn) while Methody we were 40th in line. However, should a place come available they call in all 40 for a test - and the top scorer gets it. We got a test chance at Wellington - about 15 sat it for one place. Suddenly, out of nowhere we got an interview and managed to secure a place for my 12year old. We have to drive our daughter to primary as all south Belfast primaries are full too. Had we known the probability of securing a school place (comps such as Lagan and Malone integrated are full too) we wouldn't have moved here.
My advice to anyone thinking of it, move a couple of years before they start secondary such that they can sit their 11+ equivalent named SEAG. Your DS might have to redo a year if born between 1st of July to 31st of Aug. (my daughter is redoing P4 - year 3 in England).
If your child is in Secondary. Sign them up in the spring term for a start in Sep (most schools take the AP1 form on the EA website). Methody is quite transient and has exams in May for a September start.
Just realized I've learned a lot about the NI school system in a month.
If you look for School performance data, such as GCSE and A level result per school, you wont find any. That is apparently suppressed by the unions. They don't have an OSA (office of school adjudicators) so any school can write their determined admission criteria as they wish. You often find previous behaviour in them which would be illegal in England.
Its the wild west.

Are you sure about the exam results thing? I'm sure the Belfast Telegraph used to publish that information.

Watching this thread with interest because my Sister and family are relocating to Bangor next September due to huge promotion for her husband. The company has suggested Glenola Collegiate for DN1 who will be 14 and entering NI year 11 England year 10 and a local Primary for DN2 who will enter year 7 NI this in order so she can take the transfer test.

DN1 has just started year 9 at an English Grammar school and target grades are 8 and 9 s so is likely to score above 120 in a potential CAT Exam. The initial response from Glenola is that they are hopeful a place will be available for her next August (noting NI schools terms start last week in August)

However, it seems that is not a foregone conclusion, given the difficulties in Grammar placements in Belfast.

I have looked at Websites and think Glenola and the town of Bangor are perhaps the best place for a young Professional English family to migrate to.

GCSE Target grades 8 &9s.

Typo relocating August !

Was it her choice to move to Bangor @Battlehorse ?

Just to add Friends is easily accessible by train from South Belfast (or will be once they sort out Grand Central Station and get the trains to Lisburn running again 🙄).

Campbell & Our Lady&St Patrick are both East Belfast so less accessible than RBAI (city centre, close to aforementioned train station).

Aquinas might be a good choice as it’s in South Belfast anyway.

Best wishes, OP.

It’s the bane of my life at the moment.
I don’t live or work in Lisburn but need to travel there frequently.

So sick of the rail substitute buses and the lack of joined up routes eg Lanyon Place does an “all stops” bus to Lisburn and Grand Central does an express- but can you get from Lanyon Place to Grand Central by bus?? Not a chance- on foot only! 🤦‍♀️

Latest info (this afternoon) from staff at Grand Central is that it will happen in November- but if it doesn’t we are looking at early 2025. 😩

My sisters Husband is from South Belfast and went to Methodist College before going to Kent University in 1993 and has stayed in England since. Glenlola is where is two sisters went before leaving in 1999 before the new school was built Hence he has always had a soft spot for Bangor . His Mother and Father still live in Bangor having left South Belfast when he went to England!

It was supposed to be all systems go from the beginning of September. And it’s just awful.

Eventually I’m sure it will be lovely but the bus substitutes are doing my head in.
Anyway lovely staff member said the head honcho was round the other day and when asked the response was November and failing that …after Christmas, so early 2025.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news 😬

We live in Bangor but my daughter travels by bus to Regent House in Newtonards. I wasn't keen on single sex and Bangor Grammar schools are single sex. Also regent is much stronger academically than Glenlola.
If your sister isn't set in a grammar school then Bangor Academy is a comprehensive with good results and an excellent staff.

Regent House has a Prep school I think ! Sister is very keen though on single sex schooling as DN currently goes to a single sex Catholic Grammar
in England. Sister's husband is Protestant and believes Catholic Grammar Schools in Belfast are to 'Irish' thus bullying could occur because both girls are vigorous supporters of English sporting teams and culturally act English.

I know posters on here say anti English bias is unusual now, but sisters husband is adamant that if girls went to say St Dominic's on the falls road bullying would be rife.
This is an other reason why he believes Bangor is the best place for an Northern Irish Protestant and English Catholic family. Censuses suggest that Bangor is culturally the most 'British' town in Northern Ireland !

I think St Dominic's would be more opener than he thinks. But it is in west Belfast so not suitable travelling from Bangor.

Our Lady and St Pats might be an option (but it's an exam factory imho)

One thing I have just noticed using AA trip finder is how relatively short distances places are from each other in Northern Ireland !

My sister and husband are looking at homes in the Maxwell Park and BT 20 postcodes . The houses that are available and affordable are one reason the quality of life looks so appealing .

I have heard great things about Stratheran School which according to AA trip finder is only 9.8 miles away and 18 minutes which again seems quite a short time . This when some children in England can travel over 2 hours a day going to school and back. I suppose Stratheran is less likely to have a place for DN 1 in August but the Prep school might be suitable for DN 2 and offer a feeder place in to the senior school.

Regarding Glenola about two years ago, the incidents i.e the Vaping in the toilets which led to the closing of the toilets got in to the national press.
Why are middle class Grammar School girls acting like 'junkies' in the toilets.

Vaping is in every school. My son is at a grammar and says they are all in the toilet vaping at break and lunch!!