§ Mr. DoddsTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the timetable is for the replacement of the eleven plus examination in Northern Ireland. [112910]
§ Jane KennedyI announced on 24 April 2003 the establishment of a Working Group to provide advice and recommendations on options for future arrangements for post-primary education, including the development of alternative transfer arrangements with a view to the current transfer tests being withdrawn as soon as practicable. The Working Group will report by 31 October 2003.
Pupils currently in P5 and P6 will sit the existing Transfer Tests and decisions about transfer arrangements for subsequent cohorts of pupils will be taken when the advice of the Working Group has been considered. Parents and teachers of pupils currently in P4 will be advised in good time of their transfer arrangements.