Debate contribution: Academic Selection

Debate contribution by Ms Cara Hunter on 3 February 2026.

MLA

Ms Cara Hunter

Party at the time

Social Democratic and Labour Party

Date

3 February 2026

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Academic Selection

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5362450

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Thank you, Deputy Speaker. I welcome the opportunity to speak to our amendment and to talk further about the impact of academic selection on the health and well-being of children in Northern Ireland. I thank the Members who tabled the motion. It rightly expresses concern that the Minister's programme of educational reform will be unsuccessful in tackling educational disadvantage unless we confront the reality of academic selection in the North. That concern is well founded and well researched. Minister, I acknowledge what you said in the Chamber yesterday about academic selection. It is one of those things on which we cannot find common ground. That is sad, but I understand it. One thing that, hopefully, we can agree on is the motion's recognition that the education of our children is shaped both inside and outside the classroom and highlighting the importance of working closely with your colleague the Minister for Communities:

"to deliver action to tackle educational underachievement and close the attainment gap, particularly for children from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds."

We know that the home that a child returns to matters. How the family operates matters. We all know that our children do not grow up equally. Some children grow up in rich or middle-class homes; some grow up not knowing where their next meal is coming from. Some grow up in dysfunctional homes, while others do so in complete stability. The system is not fair. As Members have rightly said, the fact that we ask 10- or 11-year-old children to sit high-stakes exams that tell them whether they are a success or a failure — as Cathy said, a winner or a loser — is really hard on them. I have spoken to children after they got their results, and some were so disappointed in themselves. That is really hard to see. We then move on to organise the rest of their education around one exam at one moment in time with no chance to resit. That is why I asked you that question yesterday, Minister. It is really important that, if children are given one moment to prove themselves in what might be in an unfamiliar environment, which I find very cruel, we at least grant them the opportunity to resit.

I can cast my mind back to my experience in 2006, when I sat my 11-plus. Before going into the exam hall, we did breathing exercises, in a circle, and played relaxing music before going to sit the exam. As an adult looking back, I think that it is bizarre that that was normalised. It is depressing that, to this day, we still force our young people to sit those exams.

Evidence has shown that, during the transfer process, around half of pupils report feeling anxious or stressed; one in six struggles with sleep; and one in eight says that the experience has had a long-lasting negative impact on their confidence and well-being. That is terribly sad. The transfer test is not an opportunity for resilience-building. It is a way for young people to feel boxed into whatever grade they come out with; it is a way of understanding that they are one of two things: a smart kid or a not-so-smart kid. Parents are feeling stuck between a rock and a hard place. They want their child to do well and feel obligated to have their child sit the exam while they struggle with the morality of not wanting them to. Teachers to whom I have spoken see that every year. In fact, over 90% of teachers surveyed believe that the transfer test has had a negative impact on children's mental health. When the professionals who are closest to our children tell us that it is causing damage, it is important that, certainly, the Committee and we, as elected representatives, listen. This is the importance of our amendment: academic selection doubles down on disadvantage. It simply does not identify ability: it reflects the advantage of the child, the home in which the child is growing up and the child's access to resources. Only 14% of pupils in selective schools are entitled to free school meals, compared with over one third in non-selective schools. That shows the divide between working-class children and children who come from middle-class homes and are more likely to have access to tutoring, familiarity with exams and, of course, parental resources to help shape the outcomes that their parents desire. We are sorting our children along socio-economic lines by the time that they are 11, and then we act surprised when the attainment gap later in life persists. That will go on to shape their lives and, as the Health Minister has said, even their health outcomes. The whole thing feels grossly unfair. Today is an opportunity to learn from other areas. Our amendment speaks of the importance of the steps that the Republic has taken. The motion acknowledges —.

Yes, certainly.

I have to be frank: I did. I benefited from a grammar setting. I went to Loreto College, Coleraine, and the Dominican College in Portstewart. I am well aware of the privilege. I come from what I describe as a middle-class home, and I had access to tutoring and opportunities. I returned from America just before I sat my exam and, thanks to my parents' paying for tutoring, spent my entire summer preparing for it. Yes, I acknowledge the privilege that I had, the home that I come from and how I benefited from the transfer test. I am lucky to have parents who supported me and my well-being throughout that time. Other children are not so lucky, Mr Burrows. I am here to speak to that. The Republic ended widespread academic selection decades ago. In its place, it invested in universal access to school-based supports. Recently, the Committee learned about some of the steps that the South is taking to tackle educational disadvantage through targeted disadvantage programmes, such as delivering equality of opportunity in schools (DEIS). I found that very interesting, Minister. The result is a system that values excellence but does not label children as "failures" before they become adolescents or rely on selection to drive improvement. We tabled the amendment to highlight how disadvantaged children feel that they are not being given a fair chance to flourish. The motion asks us to be honest about what evidence already tells us. We have to be brave enough to learn from elsewhere and be serious about building an education system that works for every child, regardless of their background. Ending academic selection is not the whole answer, but, without it, there is no credible route to true educational equality. I commend the amendment to the House.

1,116 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 14:25 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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