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Ballyclare High School: Year 8 entry

31 Rashee Road, Ballyclare, Co Antrim BT39 9HJ

Facts checked 19 October 2026By ExamKind Editorial TeamSchool website

Some details are being re-checked

We check every fact against the official source on a schedule, and some details on this page are due their next check (last verified 19 October 2026). We'll update the page if anything has changed. How we check facts

Can we apply, and what did it take?

For September 2027 entry

  • How places are decided

    By test score, in rank order

    No minimum score stated; places allocated in Total Standardised Age Score (TSAS) rank order up to 186.

    Checked, source: Ballyclare High School, checked

  • Year 8 places

    186

    2026 entry, Published Admission Number ()

    Checked, source: Ballyclare High School, checked

  • Last distance offered

    Not publishedWe have no checked figure for how far offers reached.

Your next deadlines

  1. Next: Re-mark requests close

    in about 15 weeks

    Only if you want the test papers marked again

  2. Coming up: Appeal deadline

    in about 30 weeks

How far offers reached

Can we get in?

How places are given

Northern Ireland grammar schools give Year 8 places using their own admissions criteria, often in order of transfer test result. Ballyclare High School's criteria are under Admission rules on this page.

Qualifying is not the same as being offered a place.

Reaching the school's standard means your child can be considered. If more children qualify than there are places, the school gives places using its admission rules, in order. The figures below show how far those rules reached in past years. They are history, not a prediction: they change every year with who applies.

Checked, source: Department for Education (GOV.UK), checked

Most Northern Ireland schools do not publish how far places reached. Read the school's admissions criteria to see how it ranks applicants, and what transfer test results mean.

At a glance

Ballyclare High School in brief

tap a value for its source

Year 8 places
186Year 8 placesChecked 9 Oct 2026 against Ballyclare High School.The source says: Admissions Number: 186View the official source2026 entry
The (PAN): how many children the school plans to admit.
Entrance test
SEAG Entrance Assessment (the NI transfer test)
The test children sit to be considered.

Key dates

Dates for September 2027 entry

For children in P7 in 2026/27.

Add to my calendar

SEAG (Schools' Entrance Assessment Group)

3 earlier steps, all doneShow

  1. Done: Test registration opens

  2. Done: Test registration closes

  3. Done: Admission cards sent for the test

  1. Next: Test day

  2. Coming up: Transfer test, paper 1

  3. Coming up: Transfer test, paper 2

  4. Coming up: Results

  5. Coming up: Re-mark requests open

  6. Coming up: Re-mark requests close

    in about 15 weeks

    Only if you want the test papers marked again

  7. Coming up: Appeal deadline

    in about 30 weeks

    Source: nidirect (NI Government), checked

  8. Not published yet: Transfer application deadline (to the Education Authority)

    Not yet published, checked 17 Oct 2026

  9. Not published yet: School place outcomes

    Not yet published, checked 9 Oct 2026

Year 5 now? Dates for September 2028 entryNone of these dates are published yet.

  1. Not published yet: Test day

    Not yet published, checked 9 Oct 2026

  2. Not published yet: Results

    Not yet published, checked 9 Oct 2026

  3. Not published yet: Appeal deadline

    Not yet published, checked 9 Oct 2026

  4. Not published yet: Transfer application deadline (to the Education Authority)

    Not yet published, checked 9 Oct 2026

Notes on these dates

Last year's application window, for reference: EA online Transfer Application (portal 27 January 2026 12 noon to 19 February 2026 12 noon; late applications to 4.00pm 24 February 2026).Ballyclare High School: Application route (2026)Checked 9 Oct 2026 against Ballyclare High School.The source says: ## EA portal will be open from 27th January until 19th February 2026.View the official source

How places are given

8 admission rules, in order, for 2026 entry

If more children qualify than there are places, Ballyclare High School gives places using these rules (its ), in this order (the 2026 rules; the rules for 2027 entry are not published yet).

  1. 0

    Children resident in Northern Ireland first; punctual before late applications

    The policy's own words
    All children resident in Northern Ireland at the time of their proposed admission to the School will be selected for admission before any child not so resident.
  2. 1

    1.1 Children with a Schools’ Entrance Assessment Group () TSAS (or assigned SC/SP score) before other children

    The policy's own words
    1.1 Children who have taken the SEAG Entrance Assessments and been awarded a TSAS (or had a score assigned as a result of Special Circumstances and/or Special Provisions) will be considered before other children.
  3. 2

    1.2 First 186 places in TSAS rank order; ties for the 186th place go to tie-breakers in 1.4

    The policy's own words
    1.2 The first 186 places will be allocated to pupils on the basis of the rank order of their TSAS
  4. 3

    1.3 Remaining places: pupils who did not take SEAG, using tie-breakers 1.4

    The policy's own words
    1.3 If, following the application of criteria 1.2 above all available places have not been filled the School will then consider for admission any pupils who have not taken the SEAG Entrance Assessments.
  5. 4

    1.4 I: child of the family enrolled at or accepted by the School

    The policy's own words
    I. Children who have a child of the family enrolled in the School or been accepted for enrolment in2025;
  6. 5

    1.4 II: eldest or only child

    The policy's own words
    II. Children who are the eldest child or the only child of the family*;
  7. 6

    1.4 III: age of child, eldest first

    The policy's own words
    III. The age of the child, with preference being given to the eldestchild;
  8. 7

    1.4 IV: same birthday: initial letter of surname in random-determined order, then alphabetical rules on surname and forenames

    The policy's own words
    IV. In the unlikely event of two or more children having the same birthday, rank order will be determined on the basis outlined below:

Source: Ballyclare High School, checked

More detail from our guide

What follows is Ballyclare's Admissions criteria for entry September 2026Ballyclare High School: Document title (2026)Checked 9 Oct 2026 against Ballyclare High School.The source says: Admissions criteria for entry September 2026View the official source. That was last year's round. The 2027 version is Ballyclare High School: Criteria published (2027)Not yet published by Ballyclare High School; last checked 9 Oct 2026.The source says: Admissions Criteria 2026View the official source, and the rules may be different when it appears.

The order in 2026

  • Residence and timing. Children living in Northern Ireland came before children who did not, and on-time forms came before late ones.
  • A SEAG score. Children with a SEAG score were considered before anyone without one. A score given by the school after a special circumstances or special provisions claim counted as a SEAG score.
  • Score order. Places then went down the TSAS list until all 186Ballyclare High School: Admissions number (2026)Checked 9 Oct 2026 against Ballyclare High School.The source says: Admissions Number: 186View the official source were filled. There was no pass mark.
  • Ties. If several children shared the score at the last place, tie-breaks decided it.
  • Children without a result. Only if places were still left would children without a SEAG result be looked at.

The tie-breaks

Ties for the last place (and places for children without a SEAG score) are settled by: 1) a child of the family at or accepted by the school; 2) eldest or only child; 3) age, eldest first; 4) same birthday: surname/forename letters in a randomly drawn letter order.Ballyclare High School: Tie breakers (2026)Checked 9 Oct 2026 against Ballyclare High School.The source says: 1.4 Tie breaker criteriaView the official source

Ballyclare does not use a computer draw. Its last step is based on names instead: No computerised random draw: last resort is name-based ordering (surname initial in a randomly pre-determined letter order, then alphabetical comparison of surname and forenames, shorter forename first, no-second-forename first, then second forename).Ballyclare High School: Final tie break (2026)Checked 9 Oct 2026 against Ballyclare High School.The source says: (a) Children will be selected for admission based on the initial letter of the surname as it appears on the birth certificate in the order set out below. This order was determined by random selection. D O F C Q X A G N P V U Z K M B J Y T E W S I R L H ... (g) Where 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’.View the official source

The eldest-child rule is more detailed than at many schools. It covers twins and other multiples, and some families where an older child has already left school.

Tie-break detail, September 2026 entry
Brother or sisterTie-breaker I: a child of the family enrolled in the School or accepted for enrolment ('child of the family' per DENI Circular 2025/12, issued 6 October 2025).Ballyclare High School: Sibling criterion (2026)Checked 9 Oct 2026 against Ballyclare High School.The source says: I. Children who have a child of the family enrolled in the School or been accepted for enrolment in2025;View the official source
Eldest or only childTie-breaker II: eldest or only child of the family. Multiples who are eldest count as joint eldest; includes cases where the next sibling has finished post-primary, where the eldest had a statement/attended special provision, and children who moved into Belfast City, Antrim and Newtownabbey or Mid and East Antrim council areas and so are the eldest child eligible to attend. Verification letter on headed paper required.Ballyclare High School: Eldest child criterion (2026)Checked 9 Oct 2026 against Ballyclare High School.The source says: II. Children who are the eldest child or the only child of the family*;View the official source

What happened in 2026

Ballyclare publishes a short account of how its criteria worked out last year: September 2026 entry: 186 places, 220 applications considered, all with a TSAS; ranked by score; 6 applicants tied for the 186th place; 2 met the sibling tie-breaker; the elder of those 2 was admitted under tie-breaker 1.4(iii) (age).Ballyclare High School: How criteria were applied2026Checked 9 Oct 2026 against Ballyclare High School.The source says: Total number of places available: 186 Total number of applications considered: 220 ... Once the rank order was established based on Criterion 1.2, there were 6 applicants with the same score tied for the 186th place. ... 2 of these applicants met tie-breaker criterion 1.4(i) ‘Children who have a child of the family enrolled in the School or been accepted for enrolment in 2026’. The other 4 applicants were not selected. These 2 applicants were then considered under tie-breaker criterion 1.4(iii) ‘The age of the child, with preference being given to the eldest child’. The elder of the 2 applicants was selected for the 186th placeView the official source

In other words, everyone above the tie was admitted on score alone, and the tie-breaks only touched a handful of children at the margin. The school did not publish the score of the last place. Its earlier figures look like this:

Applications and admissions, as printed by the school
Year, admissions number, applications, admissions{"year": "2023/24", "admissionsNumber": 188, "totalApplications": 222, "totalAdmissions": 189}; {"year": "2024/25", "admissionsNumber": 186, "totalApplications": 219, "totalAdmissions": 186}; {"year": "2025/26", "admissionsNumber": 186, "totalApplications": 210, "totalAdmissions": 189}Ballyclare High School: Applications and admissions historyChecked 9 Oct 2026 against Ballyclare High School.The source says: | 2023/24 | 188 | 222 | 189* | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2024/25 | 186 | 219 | 186 | | 2025/26** | 186 | 210 | 189 |View the official source

Special circumstances, missing results and the waiting list

Illness on a test day is taken into account by the post-primary school through a 'special circumstances' claim with documentary evidence, made with the EA transfer application; not by SEAG or in marking.Northern Ireland: Special circumstances routeChecked 9 Oct 2026 against SEAG (Schools' Entrance Assessment Group).The source says: Academically selective post-primary schools include, within their Year 8 Admissions Criteria, something which is usually referred to as “Special Circumstances”. This allows a parent, when making their post primary transfer application to, for example, ask the post-primary school to take account of their child being unwell when sitting one of the Entrance Assessment Papers.View the official source At Ballyclare, the claim works like this: Special Circumstances (medical or other problems affecting SEAG performance, with documentary evidence) considered by the School Improvement Committee; SC Form plus evidence uploaded with the Transfer Application on the EA portal; committee assigns a TSAS. Forms are on the SC/SP page ('Download Special Circumstances 2026 Form Here').Ballyclare High School: Special circumstances (2026)Checked 9 Oct 2026 against Ballyclare High School.The source says: Where there are medical or other problems, which may have affected the child’s performance in the SEAG Entrance Assessments and which are supported by documentary evidence, then this evidence will be given consideration by the School Improvement Committee of the Board of Governors. These problems are referred to as ‘Special Circumstances’.View the official source

Children with no SEAG result, or with only one paper, came under these rules: Children who did not take SEAG are considered only if places remain after all children with a TSAS (or assigned score), using the tie-breakers in 1.4. Special Provisions apply to children unable to sit for a documented serious medical issue or demonstrably valid reason, single-paper candidates ('e' outcomes), and those educated mostly outside NI. All applicants are expected to sit SEAG unless they took up NI residence after 17 October 2025.Ballyclare High School: Applicants without result (2026)Checked 9 Oct 2026 against Ballyclare High School.The source says: 1.3 If, following the application of criteria 1.2 above all available places have not been filled the School will then consider for admission any pupils who have not taken the SEAG Entrance Assessments. The tie-breaker criteria listed in paragraph 1.4 below will be used to determine the allocation of the remaining places.View the official source

On the form itself, the school's instructions were: Record SEAG TSAS and Unique Pupil Number on the Transfer Application and upload the original SEAG Statement of Outcome, birth certificate, two recent proofs of address and (if relevant) eldest-child verification letter.Ballyclare High School: Transfer application adviceChecked 9 Oct 2026 against Ballyclare High School.The source says: Parents/Carers are advised to record the Total Standardised Age Score (TSAS) awarded by the Schools’ Entrance Assessment Group (SEAG), together with the SEAG Unique Pupil Number, on the Transfer Application. They should also upload the original Statement of Outcome received from SEAG, indicating their child’s SEAG Total Standardised Age Score (TSAS) with the Transfer Application.View the official source

If your child is not offered a place, the 2026 waiting-list rule was: Unsuccessful applicants automatically added; for places arising 11 May-31 August 2026 all applicants (including later ones) considered, highest score first, ties by 1.4; after 1 September 2026 the Admissions Outside the Transfer Procedure policy applies.Ballyclare High School: Waiting listChecked 9 Oct 2026 against Ballyclare High School.The source says: Ballyclare High School operates a separate waiting list for Year 8.View the official source

The test

SEAG Entrance Assessment (the NI transfer test)
Test
SEAG Entrance Assessment (the NI transfer test)
Test date, 2027 entry
Saturday 14 November 2026

Ballyclare uses the SEAG Entrance Assessment, not a test of its own. The two papers, two papers, English (or Irish) and mathsSEAG (Northern Ireland): the two test papersChecked 9 Oct 2026 against SEAG (Schools' Entrance Assessment Group).The source says: The SEAG Entrance Assessment consists of two Papers: Paper 1 and Paper 2. Both Papers have an identical format and are set at the same level of difficulty.View the official source, are sat on Saturdays in November, and results arrive in January. The school is also a test centre.

The number that counts at Ballyclare is the Total Standardised Age Score. Last year's ranking rule was short: Rank order of SEAG Total Standardised Age Score, highest first.Ballyclare High School: Selection metric (2026)Checked 9 Oct 2026 against Ballyclare High School.The source says: The first criterion for selection for a place in Year 8 at Ballyclare High School will be the pupil’s Total Standardised Age Score (TSAS) provided by the SEAG.View the official source The band on the Statement of Outcomes was not part of it.

The school expects every applicant to sit the test. The only exception in the 2026 criteria was for children who came to live in Northern Ireland after a set date in the autumn of P7. See our SEAG transfer test guide and results explained.

How the Northern Ireland test works

Open days

All this year's events have passed

  1. Done: Open Night (2026 entry cycle) (passed)

    Principal speaks at 6.30pm and 8pm

Source: Ballyclare High School, checked

If you are refused a place

Reviews, appeals and the waiting list

General information, not legal advice.

This is general information, not legal advice.

A refused place does not end your transfer application: If a school cannot offer a place, the application passes to the next preference, until a place is granted or all preferences are exhausted.Northern Ireland: Next preferenceChecked 9 Oct 2026 against nidirect (NI Government).The source says: If unsuccessful in gaining a place, your child’s application will be transferred to the next preference school listed on your application. This process continues until either a place is granted by a school or all preferences listed have been exhausted.View the official source

About NI appeals
Who hears themAn independent admissions appeal tribunal set up by the EA; its decisions are binding.Northern Ireland: BodyChecked 9 Oct 2026 against nidirect (NI Government).The source says: If you think that a school has not applied, or not correctly applied its admissions criteria, you have the right of appeal to an independent tribunal. These tribunals are set up by the EA and their decisions are binding.View the official source
How to startAT1 form, via the EA websiteNorthern Ireland: FormChecked 9 Oct 2026 against nidirect (NI Government).The source says: To appeal a school's decision that has refused your child a place, go to the EA website where you can send the appeal form (AT1 Form).View the official source
What the tribunal checksthe school didn't apply, or didn't correctly apply, its admissions criteria; the school would have offered the child a place if it had applied its criteria correctlyNorthern Ireland: Uphold testsChecked 9 Oct 2026 against nidirect (NI Government).The source says: The tribunal can only uphold an appeal if: ... they find the school didn't apply or didn't apply correctly its admissions criteria ... and they find the school would have offered the child a place if it had applied its admissions criteria correctlyView the official source
Deadline, 2027 entry4pm, Thursday 20 May 2027Northern Ireland transfer: Appeal deadlineChecked 17 Oct 2026 against nidirect (NI Government).The source says: The deadline for receipt of appeal forms against Year 8 decisions by post-primary schools is Thursday 20 May 2027, no later than 4.00 pm.View the official source
Deadline last year4pm on Thursday 21 May 2026Northern Ireland 2026 entry: Appeal deadlineChecked 9 Oct 2026 against nidirect (NI Government).The source says: The deadline for receipt of appeal forms against Year 8 decisions by post-primary schools is Thursday 21 May 2026, no later than 4.00 pm.View the official source

Because Ballyclare ranks by score, most appeals would turn on whether the right TSAS was used, or whether a tie-break such as eldest child was applied correctly from the information on your form.

Official documents and sources

5 sources, each kept as an archived copy

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