Regent House School

When there are more applications than places for 2026-27 (Year 8), places are offered in this order of priority. Meeting a higher criterion beats meeting a lower one.

1. 1Children who have taken the Entrance Assessment administered by the Schools’ Entrance Assessment Group (SEAG) and been awarded a Total Standardised Age Score (TSAS) by SEAG or assigned a Total Standardised Age Score (TSAS) equivalent by the Board of Governors in accordance with the arrangements for Special Circumstances or Special Provisions set out below, will be considered before other children. If the number of applications is greater than the number of places available, children will be placed in strict rank order of marks, highest to lowest. The Board of Governors will award places on the basis of these scores with the highest score being awarded the first place(s) and then working in descending rank order until the number of places that would be awarded is equal or greater than the admissions number. The Total Standardised Age Score (TSAS) awarded by SEAG in the Entrance Assessment should be entered, along with the SEAG Unique Pupil Number, on the Transfer Application. If following the application of this criterion it is not possible to identify for admission an exact number of children equivalent to the admissions number as a result of pupils with the same score being tied for the final place(s), the sub-criteria in criterion 3(i) to (viii) below will be applied in the stated order to distinguish between such pupils.
2. 2If there are still places available after consideration of all the children who have taken the SEAG Entrance Assessment and been awarded a Total Standardised Age Score (TSAS) by SEAG, or assigned a score by the Board of Governors in accordance with the arrangements for Special Circumstances or Special Provisions set out below, the School will consider for admission any children who have not taken the SEAG Entrance Assessment using the
3. 3If as specified above, the number of applications exceeds the number of available places, children will be selected by applying the following criteria progressively in the order set down:- (i) pupils enrolled in Regent House Preparatory Department as at 1 September 2025;
4. 4children who have, or have had, a child of the family (sibling) attending the secondary department of the school. Child of the family covers: a child born to a married couple or to a couple in a civil partnership; a child born to a co-habiting couple; a child born to a single parent; a child of either/any of those people by a previous marriage, civil partnership or relationship; a child living with a couple who has been treated as a “child of the family” whether there is a marriage or a civil partnership or not; a child living with an individual, who has been treated as a “child of the family”; an adopted or fostered child; a situation where for example an orphaned cousin is being brought up with a family or individual (details to be supplied);
5. 5children who are the eldest child of the family at the date of application, eligible to transfer to a mainstream Post-Primary school. Eldest child covers “only” children as well as twins (or other multiples) who are treated as joint eldest. The eldest child criterion will also apply in the case where a family has not had the opportunity to enrol an elder child, such as in cases where the elder child has completed their post-primary education (i.e. seven school years older), could not attend mainstream school (e.g. attends a special school) or where a family has relocated to Northern Ireland. Proof of eldest child should be uploaded with the Transfer Application – a letter on headed note paper, stating that the child is the eldest eligible child and that the family is known to the verifier, from one of the following who is not a family member of the applicant: a Primary School Principal, a medical practitioner, a solicitor, an elected public representative, a member of the clergy or a police officer.
6. 6children who are transferring from Primary Schools located in the former Ards, North Down and Castlereagh Borough Council areas;
7. 7children who are entitled to receive Free School Meals.*
8. 8the age of the child, preference being given to the eldest child.
9. 9In the unlikely event in criterion (vi) above, of two or more children having the same birthday;
10. 10Children will be selected for admission on the basis of the initial letter of the surname as it appears on the birth certificate using alphabetical order.
11. 11Where surnames begin with the same letter, the second and, if necessary, subsequent letters will be used to establish relative priority for admission using alphabetical order.
12. 12Where children have the same surname, the initial letter of the first forename as it appears on the birth certificate will be used for admission.
13. 13Where the forenames begin with the same letter, the second and, if necessary, subsequent letters will be used to establish relative priority for admission using alphabetical order.
14. 14Where no priority can be established by means of this direct alphabetical comparison (e.g. ‘Alan’ ‘Alanna’) the child with the shorter first forename will be prioritised for admission.
15. 15Where children have the same forename the child without any subsequent forename will be prioritised for admission.
16. 16Where the application of (a) to (f) has not permitted priority to be established then (c) and (d) will be repeated with the substitution of ‘second forename’ for ‘first forename’.
17. 17The School wishes to continue its tradition of accepting children from a wide catchment area, irrespective of the proximity of their homes from the School. If however after all the criteria 3(i) to 3 (vii) have been exhausted it becomes necessary to make a final selection, priority will be given to a child whose home is closer to the school. Distance will be measured in a straight line using an Ordnance Survey map from the front door of the child’s home to the front door of the School. Home will be taken to mean the child’s address appearing at the commencement of the Transfer Application. Parents/Guardians must indicate on the Transfer Application which of the above sub-criteria apply and to furnish relevant details. The Board of Governors will take into account only information which is detailed on or attached to the Transfer Application. * “entitled to Free School Meals” will mean applicants who are listed on the Education Authority register as entitled to Free School Meals at the date on which their parent or guardian has signed their post-primary Transfer Application, or at any date up to and including 24 February 2026.

Northern Ireland open-enrolment admissions criteria, as published by the Education Authority for entry in September 2026.

Published by the admission authority. Meeting a criterion never guarantees a place — it sets the order places are offered in. Full detail, other entry points and previous years are on the Admissions tab.