Please can someone answer this simple question about state selective schools?

[Hakluyt]

If selection at 11 is such a good idea, why do wholly selective authorities not produce significantly better exam results than demographically similar wholly comprehensive authorities?

actually, I've just taken the less lazy approach of looking it up! They're mostly independent Christian schools, of the type that is unlikely to appeal to the 'average' parent. Wonder how many kids they educate?

I got the figure from DENI website. I forgot to check if they were primary or post primary..

Oh, yeah, some of them could be the preps attached to the grammars.

I'm not arguing that your numbers are wrong btw, just pondering out loud! I looked up the website of one of the Christian schools at random earlier and it covered pre school to GCSE. It was a bit of an eye opener actually, as leaving aside the ethos, which wouldn't suit most people, lets just say that it didn't look like it would be a suitable choice for anyone wanting their kids to learn about science for example!

So is there any parallel to be drawn between anti schools and English ones? Anything to learn about the selective system?

NI schools- not anti schools!

The one thing I would say is that in a lot of areas here (maybe less so in Belfast admittedly) there really isn't an issue with there being undesirable or particularly poorly performing schools. I'm in a rural area within realistic travelling distance of three large towns, and there is not a single school in any of them that my heart sinks at the thought of sending my child to. Obviously I have preferences, but there are none of them that are a frightening prospect.

I think there is something of a misconception elsewhere that kids here are thrown on the scrap heap at age 11 if they don't get to grammar school, and it's not true at all.

My theory is that the difference is due to the increased desirability of teaching as a career in NI, rather than the selective system.
But others may disagree. Hard to prove either way, though it would be interesting if you could find out applications per teaching job in NI compared to England.

Boulevard I think you have a good point. I know so many teachers and very few of them are in permanent jobs, even maths and science teachers. There definitely are more teachers than jobs.