St Patrick's Primary School

When there are more applications than places for 2026-27 (P1), places are offered in this order of priority. Meeting a higher criterion beats meeting a lower one.

1. 1Children who will have brothers or sisters (half-brothers/sisters, step-brothers/sisters, including those fostered or adopted) in attendance during the 2025/2026 school year. Please list name(s) and current class(es).
2. 2Children for whom the school is the Catholic Maintained primary school nearest to their home. This will be determined by measuring the shortest route by car using the public highway from the nearest pedestrian or vehicular entrance to the child’s home, to the entrance gate of St Patrick’s Primary School.
3. 3Children who are the eldest child*, first child to attend mainstream education or an only child in a family. Proof of eldest child should be uploaded with the child’s 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 nursery school teacher / playgroup leader, a medical practitioner, a solicitor, an elected public representative, a member of the clergy.
4. 4Children who are a Child Looked After.
5. 5Children with special circumstances (social, medical or security). The special circumstances must be made known at the time of application. Any application to be considered under this criterion must be clearly identified using the term ‘special circumstances’. The Board of Governors reserves the right to seek confirmation of the special circumstances from a statutory body. If after application of a particular criterion there are still places to be filled then the next criterion will be applied to select applicants for places, in the order set down through to criterion number 5. If in that order of allocation there are more applicants than places final selection will be on the basis of the distance from the child’s home to St Patrick’s Primary School, places being allocated to those pupils living closest to the school first. This will be determined by the shortest route by public highway from the nearest pedestrian or vehicular entrance to the child’s home, to the entrance gate of St Patrick’s Primary School. * eldest child is defined as “children who, at the date of their application, are the eldest child of the family to be eligible to apply for admission to the school.”

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.