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Down High School: Year 8 entry

28 Strangford Road, Downpatrick, BT30 6SL

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

  • Score to qualify

    Not published yet

    SEAG Entrance Assessment (the NI transfer test)

  • Year 8 places

    Not published yet

  • 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. Down 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Most Northern Ireland schools do not publish how far places reached.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

Down High School in brief

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

How places are given

Admission rules and catchment
Admission rules not checked yetWe add the school's rules from its determined admission policy.
More detail from our guide

The school has published "Down High School Admissions Criteria - 2026Down High School: Document title (2026)Checked 9 Oct 2026 against Down High School.The source says: Down High School Admissions Criteria - 2026View the official source", which covers September 2026 entry. The file refused our archive tool, so its contents are still unchecked: whether places go by score or by band, any sibling or eldest-child rule, or the tie-breaks. We are trying again and will fill this section in. For now, the school website is the place to read it.

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

Down High is holding a familiarisation session for P7 children who will sit the test there: SEAG Familiarisation Day: Thursday 15 October 2026, 2.30pm. Tests on Saturday 14 and Saturday 21 November 2026 (mornings); results Saturday 23 January 2027.Down High School: Seag familiarisationChecked 9 Oct 2026 against Down High School.The source says: Monday 18th May 2026 - Friday 18th September 2026: Registration Period Familiarisation Day: Thursday 15th October (2.30pm) Saturday 14th November 2026 (AM): Entrance Assessment Paper 1 Saturday 21st November 2026 (AM): Entrance Assessment Paper 2 Saturday 23rd January 2027: SEAG Outcomes releasedView the official source Seeing the school before test day may help your child feel more at ease. For what the papers contain and how scores work, read the SEAG transfer test guide or results explained.

How the Northern Ireland test works

Open days

Not published yet

We have not found an open evening date for 2027 entry. The familiarisation session above is the only upcoming event we could confirm.

If you are refused a place

Reviews, appeals and the waiting list

General information, not legal advice.

This is general information, not legal advice.

Parents whose child is refused a place can take the decision to an independent tribunal set up by the EA. It checks only whether the school's criteria were applied properly. The EA sets the timetable; the 2027 deadline is 4pm, 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.

Official documents and sources

4 sources, each kept as an archived copy

ExamKind is independent. We are not connected with Down High School, its council or any test provider, and nobody pays to appear on this page. How we check facts · Report an error on this page