Sinn Féin Welcomes Church 11-Plus Initiative

The four main churches in Northern Ireland are joining forces in an attempt to end the current 11-Plus 'stalemate'.

The Church of Ireland, Catholic, Methodist and Presbyterian churches are today seeking agreement in the long-running dispute.

They said pupil transfer at 14 instead of 11 years was a "workable proposal" and "worthy of detailed consideration".

Already, one politician has responded positively, with a Sinn Féin MLA and spokesperson on Education stating that the intervention by the church leaders on the selection process is helpful.

Mr O'Dowd said: "I hope that it encourages all involved to find a consensus as that is clearly the best basis to move forward. The Minister has brought forward compromise proposals in an attempt to create space alluded to in this morning's meeting.

"There is still time to reach a consensus but we also need to bring an early conclusion to this debate and bring clarity to teachers, pupils and parents."

This is the final year of that transfer test and the first of the last two exams will take place on Friday.

Mr O'Dowd was commenting on the selection test for children in primary seven which determines which type of school they transfer to, with the churchmen saying primary school children were becoming "agitated and distressed" as they picked up on adult confusion about what would happen when the 11-plus ends.

"It is clear that there are strong yet un-reconciled convictions about the best system of education for the future," the churchmen said in a statement.

A large number of voluntary, controlled and Catholic grammar schools are meanwhile planning to run independent tests at 11.

It is also believed the Department of Education is preparing to reveal new guidelines for oversubscribed schools.

(BMcC)