Drumragh Integrated College

Year 8 Entry

Drumragh Integrated College is an 11-18 post-primary school. It is an integrated school which welcomes students of all faiths and none, into a warm learning environment with a Christian ethos. The school places a high priority on respect, equality, high expectations and academic excellence. Students of all abilities are welcome and catered for. A number will enter our Grammar Pathway, whilst others will enter our All Ability Pathway, with the promise they can enter the Grammar Pathway if places become available and their academic record supports a move. A number will have their own specific needs which we will cater for.

GRAMMAR AND ALL ABILITY PATHWAYS

In affirming the all-ability vision of the College, the Board of Governors will ensure that each year group caters for students of all abilities, including the most academically able. 25% of places at Drumragh Integrated College are available for its Grammar Pathway. Parents/guardians of academically able students, who wish to be considered for Grammar Pathway, must clearly indicate this on the Transfer Application using the exact wording: “I wish for my child to be considered for the Grammar Pathway”.

RESPECTIVE FUNCTIONS OF THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS & THE PRINCIPAL IN RELATION TO ADMISSIONS

The Board of Governors agrees the admissions criteria. They delegate the task of applying the criteria to an admissions committee which comprises the Principal, one member of SLT and one member of the BOG. The Principal reports to the Board of Governors on the process and its outcomes, once the task is complete.
Drumragh Integrated College has been directed to select for admission, children resident in Northern Ireland at the time of the submission, before any applicant not so resident.

ADMISSION CRITERIA

During the admissions procedure when applying the criteria, punctual applications will be considered before late applications are considered. The application procedure opens on 30 January 2024 at 12 noon (GMT) and an application submitted by the closing date of 22 February 2024 at 12 noon (GMT) will be treated as a punctual application. An application received after 12 noon (GMT) on 22 February 2024 and up to 4pm on 4 March 2024 will be treated as a late application.

1. Religious Balance
The Board of Governors will seek to reflect, in the total number admitted into Year 8 in September 2024, an overall balance amongst all traditions and all abilities. The College will reserve a maximum of 20% of the available places for students regarded as ‘Other’, as defined below. The remaining places will then be allocated as equally as possible between Protestant and Roman Catholic applicants. Where less than 20% of places are awarded to applicants regarded as ‘Other’, the balance will be divided as equally as possible between Protestant and Roman Catholic applicants. If there are fewer applicants from either of the main traditions than there are places available for that tradition, then the balance of places will be allocated to the other tradition.

Definitions of ‘Other’ include:
• Applicants of a religion that is neither Protestant nor Roman Catholic.
• Applicants who are from a mixed marriage/union or a background that is similarly integrated.
• Applicants who have genuine, specific reasons for regarding themselves as neither Protestant nor Roman
Catholic.
• Applicants who have no religious affiliation to any established faith.


Parents/guardians must state clearly on the online Transfer Application whether the application is to be regarded as Other, Protestant or Roman Catholic. Applications to be regarded as “Other” must be clearly identified as such on the Transfer Application and the reason(s) for applying on this basis must be identified. (If religious affiliation is not stated on the Transfer Application, the applicant will be deemed Protestant if transferring from a controlled school, and Catholic if transferring from a maintained school. If transferring from an Integrated school, the College will contact parents/guardians to confirm religious affiliation.)


Where there are more applicants than places available, the Board of Governors have determined that the following criteria shall be applied, in the order set down, to determine entry.
(a) Applicants who are transferring from a Grant Maintained Integrated Primary School or Controlled Integrated Primary School, as defined in the Education Reform (NI) Order 1989.
(b) Applicants whose parent/guardian is an employee of the Board of Governors of Drumragh Integrated College, or who is due to take up such an appointment, or who are children of a member of the Board of Governors of Drumragh Integrated College.
(c) Applicants who, at the date of application, have a child of the family currently enrolled at the College.
(d) Applicants who, at the date of their application, are the eldest child of the family to be eligible to apply for admission to the school.
(e) Applicants of a mixed marriage/union.
(f) Applicants who are transferring from a mixed enrolment primary school. For the purpose of applying the
Admissions Criteria, ‘mixed’ is defined as primary schools whose management can confirm an enrolment of
not less than 20% of both the Protestant and Roman Catholic traditions.
(g) Applicants who are transferring from other primary schools in Northern Ireland.


In the event of full subscription being exceeded within any of the above criterion groupings, selection for the available places in that grouping will be on the basis of random selection. This will include allocating a number to each applicant, and using an internet-based random number generator to select an order of numbers. All of the applicants concerned will be listed in alphabetical order based on the first letter of their surname (as entered on the Transfer Application). In the event of more than one surname beginning with the first initial letter, the subsequent letters of the surname will be used in alphabetical order. In the event of two identical surnames, the alphabetical order of the forenames will be used.  The first student on the list will be allocated number one, and each subsequent student will be allocated the next whole number, until all students have a unique number. An internet random number generator will be used to produce the required numbers. The applicant with each number selected will be offered a place. This will be repeated until all available places have been allocated.

DUTY TO VERIFY

Please note that the Board of Governors reserves the right to request supplementary evidence as may be required to support or verify information on any applicant’s Transfer Application. If the requested evidence is not provided to the Board of Governors by the deadline given, this may result in the withdrawal of the offer of a place. The provision of false or incorrect information, or the failure to provide information within the deadlines set, can result in the withdrawal of a place or the inability to offer a place at this college.


It is the responsibility of the parents/guardians to ensure that:
• The Transfer Application and other necessary documents are correctly completed.
• All relevant information is included on or attached/uploaded to the Transfer Application including the religious
affiliation of the applicant and if required, the sentence identifying the academic pathway.
• Any required verification documents are provided within specified deadlines.

WAITING LIST POLICY

The Yr 8 Waiting List begins as soon as parents have been informed of their post-primary placement and all unsuccessful Yr 8 applicants will remain on it until 31st August. From 1 September those who still wish to be enrolled should inform the Principal and they will then join the Whole-College Waiting List. This is applied according to:

• the admissions criteria;
• the need to maintain a balance of Protestant, Catholic and ‘Other’ students;
• the pastoral resources of the College;
• the capacity in each year group.

Prospective applicants are welcome to contact the Principal with any further questions about this. Copies of the full Waiting List Policy are available from the College on request.

CONTACT US

For any queries regarding admission into Year 8 or any other Year group, please contact us on 02882 252440 or fill in your details below and a colleague will be in touch.

Please complete all fields marked (*)