Debate contribution: Academic Selection
Debate contribution by Mr Jon Burrows on .
- MLA
- Mr Jon Burrows
- Party at the time
- Ulster Unionist Party
- Date
- 3 February 2026
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Private Members' Business
- Heading
- Academic Selection
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5362518
Read the official Assembly record
Text
The principals had great pride in telling me that many of the parents choose not to send their children to a grammar school, even if they have passed the selection, but to Bangor Academy and Sixth Form College, because it is an outstanding school that is bucking the trend and the perceptions of non-selective schools. The party opposite talks about choice and the right of girls to choose to wear trousers, which is one that I agree with.
78 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.17 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- No identity-based framing was identified (0.91).
- Subject area: Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups.
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.14 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.02 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.04 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.08 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.26 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.31 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.17 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 0.91 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.07 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.02 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups | 0.39 |
| Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues | 0.35 |
| Education structures, integration and community division | 0.25 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.01 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 14:26 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
Disagree with this assessment?
Classifications can be challenged. A person reads every challenge, and any change is recorded publicly above with its reason.