Debate contribution: Academic Selection

Debate contribution by Mr David Brooks on 3 February 2026.

MLA

Mr David Brooks

Party at the time

Democratic Unionist Party

Date

3 February 2026

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Academic Selection

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5362466

Read the official Assembly record

Text

We all recognise that this issue is one that raises strong opinions and passions; one on which views can be polarised. Education shapes not only the future of our children but the economic, cultural and civic health of Northern Ireland. Individuals and families will have different but equally valid experiences — positive and negative — of our system: experiences and views that cross political and religious divides. That is why passions are so strong. Let us be honest, however, about what academic selection is and is not. It is not a judgement on a child's worth. It is not a declaration of lifelong success or failure. It is not a denial of opportunity. At best, academic selection is about matching children to the educational environment in which they are most likely to thrive at a particular stage in their development. Of course, it can be stressful, and not everyone is successful, even within their own expectations, but such is the nature of exams throughout children's education.

There are many aspects of the current system that are not optimal, but I do not think that the Member would be willing to facilitate the system that I believe to be optimal. There is therefore an understanding that we have an issue with getting consensus on the best way forward, but I absolutely believe in the principle of academic selection. Northern Ireland is often described as having one of the more unequal societies on these islands, and that has been said today. Paradoxically, we also have a record of social and occupational mobility that matches or, in some ways, outperforms that in other parts of the UK. For generations, children from working-class families, many without an academic tradition at home, have used grammar schools as a ladder of opportunity. I, as the son of a fitter in Shorts and an entry-grade civil servant, was able to attend one of the best academic schools in the country.

Not at the moment, thank you. In my year, my school was one of the most in demand, yet that demand was dictated, at that stage, by academic ability, not by whether my parents could afford to pay private fees or buy a house in the right catchment area. At my school, I was not in a minority either. At Grosvenor, I went to school with friends from Ballybeen, Tullycarnet, Cregagh and the Newtownards Road. I know that the Members opposite, particularly those with whom I sit on the Education Committee, believe that the system is elitist and somehow keeps the working classes down. My ideals are far from their Marxist or socialist ideals, but I do care that people from backgrounds such as mine have the chances that I did, and that makes me want to defend opportunities for others from working-class backgrounds. I support academic selection because I believe that it is a vehicle for social mobility, but I am not blind to the inequalities that exist or their impact on skewing selection. As we have heard today and will hear again, critics claim that academic selection entrenches inequality. We must note — I am sure that we will hear about it today — that the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and the OECD did not explicitly rule out academic selection. Rather, they talked about the inequalities and how they affect the system. Inequality does not begin at age 11, however. We know that it begins much earlier, as a result of poverty, housing insecurity, poor health outcomes and a lack of access to early years support. Blaming selection for an inequality that it did not create is inaccurate and counterproductive. Inequality does not exist because a middle-class parent can pay for their child to have tutoring. That may exacerbate inequality, but, by then, the die has already been cast. That is what we must address.

Yes.

I certainly agree that some schools face more challenges than others, but that is a reason that the answer, if we are serious about having equality, is not to level down aspiration but to level up support, particularly in early years education and childcare, in primary schools that serve disadvantaged communities and in community-based educational supports. That is a long-term objective and commitment, but I believe that this Minister has done more than anyone to develop and underpin those supports in a challenging financial climate. Another argument that we will hear is that selection damages children's confidence. Any assessment system must, of course, be handled with care, but the solution is not to abandon assessment altogether. In life, young people will face exams, interviews and competitions. Our responsibility is to ensure that those experiences are fair, proportionate and humane, not to pretend that they do not exist. We already hear frustrations from private industry, public services and emergency services that they find many in today's generation of recruits to be lacking in resilience. The solution is not for children never to experience adversity. I recognise that children develop at different rates. Academic selection at the age of 11 is not perfect, but nor is a single, one-size-fits-all comprehensive model. No system will ever achieve the eradication of families seeing some schools as being better than others, and there will always be a measure of those with more money being able to ensure that they get what they need. To me, an exam seems to be a fair —.

905 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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