Call for abolition of 11-plus welcomed

The Burns report has recommended an end to post-primary education selection on the basis of an 11-plus test.

The report was ordered by Education Minister Martin McGuinness following criticism of the controversial transfer system test, which has been used to determine the type of education establishment that pupils could attend at post-primary level.

The Chairman of the Report Committee Gerry Burns said: “In looking to the future, we have recommended the creation of a system which puts the needs, aspirations and long-term interests of our children at the heart of the education system.”

The three main points of the plan are:

• Abolition of the Eleven-Plus Transfer Tests at the earliest possible opportunity



• Development of a progressive ‘Pupil Profile’ for continuous assessment



• Creation of a ‘Collegiate System’ of schools across Northern Ireland

Mr Burns explained that the proposed restructure would provide new opportunities for schools to co-operate and work together, serving the educational needs and abilities of all pupils in a way which has not been possible under the selective system which was designed for different circumstances and a different century.

He said it was crucial that the proposals were taken as an integral package, rather than separate and free-standing components: “We can’t change the past but what we must do is learn from it. We want to encourage young people to develop a love of learning in an education system which will meet the challenges of the 21st Century, enabling their individual potential and personalities to develop, both for their own good, and that of the whole community.”

The report will be subject to a six-month consultation period during which the changes, expected to cost £45 million over the next three years, will be examined.

Teachers’ unions have broadly welcomed the report.

SDLP Education spokesperson Patricia Lewsley has welcomed the publication of the Burns Report and the recommendation to abolish the 11-plus system which she described as “unfair, divisive, ineffective and damaging to children and to society as a whole”.

Some schools in the Armagh area had opted out of the system. Under the Dickson plan all primary pupils transferred to a Junior High School for a further three years before being selected to go on to either Grammar school or a Technical College. (SP)