St Columb's College

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. 1Applicants awarded BAND 1 in the SEAG Entrance Assessment and those applicants regarding whom parental claims for consideration of special circumstances and/or special provision have been accepted and who, in the opinion of the authorised Sub-Committee, based on the documented evidence submitted, are of comparable ability to those pupils awarded BAND 1.
2. 2Applicants awarded BAND 2 in the SEAG Entrance Assessment and those applicants regarding whom parental claims for consideration of special circumstances and/or special provision have been accepted and who, in the opinion of the authorised Sub-Committee, based on the documented evidence submitted, are of comparable ability to those pupils awarded BAND 2.
3. 3Applicants awarded BAND 3 in the SEAG Entrance Assessment and those applicants regarding whom parental claims for consideration of special circumstances and/or special provision have been accepted and who, in the opinion of the authorised Sub-Committee, based on the documented evidence submitted, are of comparable ability to those pupils awarded BAND 3
4. 4Applicants awarded BAND 4 in the SEAG Entrance Assessment and those applicants regarding whom parental claims for consideration of special circumstances and/or special provision have been accepted and who, in the opinion of the authorised Sub-Committee, based on the documented evidence submitted, are of comparable ability to those pupils awarded BAND 4.
5. 5Applicants awarded BAND 5 in the SEAG Entrance Assessment and those applicants regarding whom parental claims for consideration of special circumstances and/or special provision have been accepted and who, in the opinion of the authorised Sub-Committee, based on the documented evidence submitted, are of comparable ability to those pupils awarded BAND 5.
6. 6Applicants awarded BAND 6 in the SEAG Entrance Assessment and those applicants regarding whom parental claims for consideration of special circumstances and/or special provision have been accepted and who, in the opinion of the authorised Sub-Committee, based on the documented evidence submitted, are of comparable ability to those pupils awarded BAND 6.
7. 7Applicants other than those satisfying any one of criteria 1 - 6 above. If there are more applicants who satisfy any one of criteria 1 - 7 when they are being applied in the order of priority set down above than there are places available, then pupils shall be selected to fill the remaining places by applying the following Sub-Criteria, in the order of priority set down below:
8. 8Applicants of whom a brother* is a pupil in the school or will be in the coming year.
9. 9(i) Applicants who are the eldest/first** boy of the family or,
10. 10in the case of a family which has arrived on or after 1 January 2021 in the College's traditional catchment area (details of which are to be found in a leaflet available from the College), applicants who are the first boy to reach transfer age of that family since its arrival in the College's traditional catchment area; or
11. 11Applicants of whom a brother* previously attended the school but has since left; or
12. 12Applicants with elder brothers*, all of whom have already completed their post-primary education at a school other than St Columb’s College.
13. 13Applicants of whom a parent or step-parent or legally adopted parent is a permanent member of staff of St Columb’s College.
14. 14Applicants other than those satisfying any one of the sub-criteria (a) – (c) above. If there are more applicants who satisfy any one of sub-criteria (a) – (d) when they are being applied in the order of priority set down above than there are places available, the authorised Sub-Committee shall fill the remaining places by selecting on the basis of the initial letter of the surname (as appears on the birth/adoption certificate/ legal document to confirm that a change has been made to the applicant’s name as it appears on his Birth Certificate) in the order set out below: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
15. 15I P R K U E N B D S J T Z M X O L H F Q W A Y V G C The order was determined by a random selection, witnessed by the Board of Governors. In the event of surnames beginning with the same initial letter, the subsequent letters of the surnames will be used in the order set out above. In the event of two identical surnames, the initial and the subsequent letters of the forenames as they appear on the birth certificate etc. will be used in the order set out above. In the event of over-subscription in the last criterion that can be applied, selection for available places will be decided by lot. * Brother refers to the phrase ‘child of the family’ as defined in Article 2 (2) of the Domestic Proceedings (NI) Order 1980. The term 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; or, • a situation where for example an orphaned cousin is being brought up with a family or individual. The child should be a child of the family as at the date of application. ** This would include cases where an older brother cannot attend mainstream school, for example attends a special school. Advice re the Submission to the Governors of Relevant Information and Documentary Evidence To enable the Board of Governors to apply the above criteria, it is the responsibility of parent(s)/ guardian(s)/carer(s) to ensure that all relevant information is given on, or attached to, the EA Post-Primary Application (with the exception of information required to verify an applicant’s address). This is particularly important for Sub-criteria (a), (b)(i) and (b)(iii) where full details should be provided of brothers who are/will be/have been pupils at the College. Also, for Sub-criterion (b)(iv), full details should be provided of brothers who have been pupils at a school other than St Columb’s College.

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.