Debate contribution: Academic Selection

Debate contribution by Mr Robbie Butler on 3 February 2026.

MLA

Mr Robbie Butler

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 5362589

Read the official Assembly record

Text

As a former long-term member of the Education Committee, at which this topic raised its head on numerous occasions, I am delighted to take part in the debate today. I say that for a reason, to which I will come back in a minute or two. I also declare a number of interests. Like Mr Baker, I did the 11-plus — I do not know whether it was called the 11-plus in your day, Danny — but did not pass the test. I did not get to go to Wallace High School or Friends' School, but I thank God that I went to Lisnagarvey High School, because it turned me into the man that I am today. I did not enjoy the day that I got my result. Based on my personal experience, I think that we should always be up for reform and improvement of any system that we have, particularly for children and young people I also declare an interest in that the third of my five children recently navigated the test. My two older children did the AQE test, and, this year, our P7 pupil sat the SEAG test. My young daughter did not suffer mental distress. She was not overanxious. I do not diminish the fact that some pupils are, but is it really the test that causes the problem?

I will, if you are brief, Pat.

Thank you for being brief. I go back to a point that was raised about me personally when we had this debate in around 2020. I was accused of not caring about the mental health of young people, which I took personally. If your accusation, Pat, is that I do not care about the mental health of my daughter and the young people of Northern Ireland, I will go toe to toe with anyone on that. I have the highest regard for the mental health champion, who is the best person for that job, but it is OK to disagree even with professionals. It is about how we address academic selection and attach a value to it. What do I mean by that? There have been missed opportunities, one of which was in the review of education. When I, as the education spokesperson for this party, had my first meeting with the wonderful group of people who led that review, there was a missed opportunity. In the first meeting, I asked the group whether it would look at the Dickson plan as an alternative to the P7 test. The answer at that meeting was, "No, that is not on the table". That may have been because of the terms of reference set by the Minister at that time, but it signalled to me that there is a bit of a glass ceiling. I am not afraid, and the Ulster Unionist Party will not be afraid, to talk about the glass ceiling, but we will not take away a pathway that parents and children can understand and that the system supports. I accept that there may be some disadvantage. However, the party that tabled the motion, the party that tabled the amendment and the Alliance Party have never brought an alternative solution to the Assembly. That is what brought me down to the Chamber for the debate. We get private Members' Bills and motions on academic selection, and we talk about the issue. However, only one party in the Chamber has brought a workable solution, and that is the Ulster Unionist Party. We recognise that some of the points raised by Members are absolutely valid. Is this the best that we can do? No, it is not. However, we have all inherited a system that has served the majority of people well. Can we improve it? We absolutely can. I go back to a point that was discussed a few minutes ago. If we removed academic selection, there would be a postcode lottery. Parental choice really matters. It matters to the SDLP, Sinn Féin and Alliance. Guess what? It matters on this issue too. Parental choice exists in every aspect of children's education, including transport, special educational needs —

— free school meals and which school your child wants to go to. I will take a question.

Yes, that is still selection. To be fair to the Alliance Party, it is the only party that supported the Ulster Unionist Party's suggestion back in 2021, which, I think, is a better suggestion than that which the independent review body brought forward. Whilst we put a lot of store by what professionals say, most people here are parents and have lived experience. In fact, lived experience is one of the best tools that we can use. To finish, if you have been talking about an issue for years, when you bring such a motion to the Floor, come with solutions.

808 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

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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.

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