The education system in Northern Ireland differs from elsewhere in the United Kingdom (although it is relatively similar to Wales), but is similar to the Republic of Ireland in sharing in the development of the national school system and serving a similar society with a relatively rural population. A child's age on 1 July determines the point of entry into the relevant stage of education in the region, whereas the relevant date in the Republic of Ireland is the school starting date,An Roinn Oideachais, 'Rules for National Schools under the Department of Education'. Stationery Office: Dublin. Available at: https://www.into.ie/media-centre/circulars/rules-for-national-schools-1965/ and the relevant date in England and Wales is 1 September.
Overview As with the island of Ireland as a whole, Northern Ireland has one of the youngest populations in Europe and, among the four UK nations, it has the highest proportion of children aged under 16 years (21% in mid-2019).
In the 2021–2022 academic year, the region's school education system comprised 1,124 schools (of all types) and around 346,000 pupils, including: 796 primary schools with 172,000 pupils; 192 post-primary schools with 152,000 pupils; 126 non-grammar post-primary schools with 86,000 pupils; 66 grammar schools with 65,000 pupils; 94 nursery schools with 5,800 pupils; 39 special schools with 6,600 pupils (specifically for children with special educational needs); and 14 independent schools with 700 children.
Enrolments in further and higher education were as follows (in 2019–2020) before disruption to enrolments and classes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic: six regional further education colleges with 132,000 students; two universities – Queen's University Belfast and Ulster University – with 53,000 students; two teacher training colleges – Stranmillis University College and St Mary's University College, Belfast – with 2,200 students; the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise with 1,700 students on three campuses; and the Open University with 4,200 students.
Statistics on education in Northern Ireland are published by the Department of Education and the Department for the Economy.
History For the history prior to the partition of Ireland in the 1920s, see History of education in Ireland.
Administration
Education is devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly and the government departments which are mainly responsible for education policy are assigned responsibilities according to the different levels of the education system. The Department of Education is responsible for pre-school, primary, post-primary and special education, youth work policy, the promotion of good community relations within and between schools, and teacher education and salaries. Further and higher education sits within the remit of the Department for the Economy and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs as young people and adults at that stage are either employed or being prepared for entering employment.
The Education Authority (EA) is responsible for ensuring that nursery, primary and post-primary education services are available to meet the needs of children and young people and for providing support for youth services. The authority was established in 2015 and its services, in relation to education, were previously delivered by the five education and library boards (ELBs) from the 1970s onwards and by county councils before that time. Each of the former ELBs is now a sub-region of the Education Authority:
Sub region of the Education Authority Area covered 1. Belfast (formerly BELB) 2. North Eastern (formerly NEELB) Antrim, Ballymena, Ballymoney, Carrickfergus, Coleraine, Larne, Magherafelt, Moyle, Newtownabbey 3. South Eastern (formerly SEELB) Ards, Castlereagh, Down, Lisburn and North Down 4. Southern (formerly SELB) Armagh, Banbridge, Cookstown, Craigavon, Dungannon and South Tyrone, Newry and Mourne 5. Western (formerly WELB) Derry, Fermanagh, Limavady, Omagh, Strabane
Curriculum
The majority of examinations sat, and education plans followed, in Northern Irish schools are set by the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations & Assessment. All schools in Northern Ireland follow the Northern Ireland Curriculum which is based on the National Curriculum used in England and Wales. At age 11, on entering secondary education, all pupils study a broad base of subjects from the nine 'Areas of Learning': Language and Literacy, Mathematics and Numeracy, Modern Languages, The Arts, Environment and Society, Science and Technology, Learning for Life and Work, Physical Education, and Religious Education. + Areas of Learning Area of Learning Compulsory subjects strands Language and LiteracyEnglish, Irish, Media Education Mathematics and NumeracyMathematics, Financial Capability Modern LanguagesAn official language of the EU The ArtsArt and Design, Drama, Music Environment and SocietyHistory, Geography Science and TechnologyScience, Technology and Design Learning for Life and WorkEmployability, Home Economics, Local and Global Citizenship, Personal Development Physical EducationPhysical Education Religious EducationReligious Education Non-compulsory subjects offered in some schoolsICTA second official language of the European UnionArabic, Latin, Mandarin Chinese South West College works in conjunction with some schools to offer after-school clubs for Mandarin Chinese. or another non-EU language
At age 14, pupils select which subjects to continue to study for General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) examinations. Currently, it is compulsory to study English Language and Mathematics, although subjects such as English Literature, French, Learning for Life and Work, Religious Studies and Science (single-, double- or triple-award) may also be compulsory in certain schools. In addition, pupils usually choose to continue with other subjects and many study for eight or nine GCSEs, and possibly up to ten or eleven. GCSEs mark the end of compulsory education in Northern Ireland.
At age 16, some pupils stay at school and choose to study A-Level – AS and A2 – level subjects or more vocational qualifications such as Applied Advanced Levels; many also take up vocational courses at further education colleges on leaving school. Those choosing AS and A2 levels normally pick three or four subjects and success in these can determine acceptance into higher education courses at university.
Levels of education
Pre-primary education is optional in Northern Ireland with preschool stage for children aged 3 and 4. In some pre-schools, pupils can leave when they turn 4 and enter into an optional Reception class in their local primary school. (This is entirely optional in most schools which provide these classes.)
Primary education covers three stages – Foundation, Key Stage 1, and Key Stage 2.
Foundation Stage Reception, age 4 (optional; see above note) Primary 1, age 4 to 5 (equivalent to Reception in England and Wales) Primary 2, age 5 to 6 Key Stage 1 Primary 3, age 6 to 7 Primary 4, age 7 to 8 Key Stage 2 Primary 5, age 8 to 9 Primary 6, age 9 to 10 Primary 7, age 10 to 11
Post-primary (or secondary) education covers up to three stages – Key Stage 3, Key Stage 4, and Key Stage 5:
Key Stage 3 Year 8, age 11 to 12 (equivalent to Year 7 in England and Wales) Year 9, age 12 to 13 Year 10, age 13 to 14 Key Stage 4 Year 11, age 14 to 15 Year 12, age 15 to 16 (including GCSE examinations) Key Stage 5 Year 13, age 16 to 17 (including AS-level examinations) Year 14, age 17 to 18 (including A-level A2 examinations)
Although the Department of Education uses Year 8 to Year 14 for post-primary education, the traditional First to Fifth Form, Lower Sixth and Upper Sixth are still used, at least informally, by some schools. Young people may continue their education at a post-primary school (often a grammar school) or at a further education college after Key Stage 4. A range of tertiary education qualifications are available through further education colleges, universities and other institutions, including at bachelor's degree, master's degree and doctorate levels.
Post-primary transfer Most primary school children will transfer to non-grammar post-primary schools. However, issues around post-primary transfer and academic selection receive a high level of media coverage, as many parents regard a place for their child in a grammar school as a form of social mobility. In 2021–2022, 57% of young people in post-primary education (87,000 pupils) attended non-grammar schools and 43% attended grammar schools (65,000 pupils).
The Education Act (Northern Ireland) 1947 introduced a school system which included a government-run eleven-plus post-primary transfer test as an entrance exam for grammar schools; this had previously been introduced in England and Wales in 1944. The test, a form of academic selection, was retained in Northern Ireland whereas England and Wales moved towards a comprehensive school system, which is also in place in Scotland. The differences in political opinion regarding academic selection, with unionists generally in favour and nationalists and the Alliance Party broadly opposed, reflect differences between Conservative and Labour in Great Britain; a Conservative government introduced the eleven-plus in the 1940s and a Labour government introduced comprehensive schooling in the 1970s.
As Minister of Education in the first Northern Ireland Assembly after the Good Friday Agreement, Martin McGuinness commissioned a review of post-primary transfer – the Burns report – which (in 2001) proposed the ending of the eleven-plus (and academic selection in post-primary transfer) and a system of formative assessment through a pupil profile to provide a wider range of educational information to teachers, parents and pupils. In the subsequent public consultation, a majority of respondents favoured the abolition of eleven-plus tests, but not the end of academic selection, and most wanted all schools to use the same criteria for entry with parental preference to be the most important criterion.
The Assembly was suspended in November 2002 and, under direct rule, Education Minister Jane Kennedy commissioned a post-primary transfer working group, chaired by Steve Costello, which reported in 2004 and broadly supported the Burns Report and recommended a broader curriculum through a model known as the entitlement framework. The Assembly was restored in March 2007 and then Education Minister Caitríona Ruane reaffirmed the decision by her predecessors to abolish the eleven-plus; the last government-run test took place in 2008. The majority of grammar schools, however, decided to set their own entrance exams which, at present, are available in two types – AQE and GL Assessment – although a single test is planned from 2023 onwards.
School sectors by ethos Controlled
Controlled schools are so-called as their governance is controlled by the state (e.g. through the Education Authority as the employer of teachers) although schools are managed by their board of governors, which include representatives of parents, teachers and transferor churches (who transferred their control of schools to the state in the mid-20th century). Controlled schools are open to children of all faiths and none.