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Strathearn School: Year 8 entry

188 Belmont Road, Belfast, BT4 2AU

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.

    Checked, source: Strathearn School, checked

  • Year 8 places

    120

    2025 entry, Published Admission Number ()

    Checked, source: Strathearn 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. Strathearn 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Most Northern Ireland schools do not publish how far places reached.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

Strathearn School in brief

tap a value for its source

Pupils
girlsPupilsChecked 9 Oct 2026 against Strathearn School.The source says: Strathearn is a voluntary grammar school for girls (Group A) administered by its Governors in accordance with the regulations of the Department of Education.View the official source
Who the school admits.
Year 8 places
120Year 8 placesChecked 9 Oct 2026 against Strathearn School.The source says: The admissions number is 120 and the enrolment number is 810.View the official source2025 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

Strathearn counts on-time forms before late ones. For 2025 entry the deadlines were set out like this: Punctual applications considered before late; punctual by 12 noon 20 February 2025; late up to 4pm 25 February 2025Strathearn School: Late applicationsChecked 9 Oct 2026 against Strathearn School.The source says: During the admissions procedure when applying the criteria punctual applications will be considered before late applications are considered. The application procedure opens on 28 January 2025 at 12noon (GMT) and an application submitted by the closing date of 20 February 2025 at 12.00noon (GMT) will be treated as a punctual application. An application received after 12noon (GMT) on 20 February 2025 and up to 4 pm on 25 February 2025 will be treated as a late application.View the official source. The 2027 times will follow once the Education Authority publishes them.

How places are given

11 admission rules, in order, for 2025 entry

If more children qualify than there are places, Strathearn School gives places using these rules (its ), in this order (the 2025 rules; the rules for 2027 entry are not published yet).

  1. 1

    First 110 places by rank order of Schools’ Entrance Assessment Group () Score

    The policy's own words
    1 The first 110 places from the admissions total of 120 will be allocated to girls on the basis of the rank order of their respective Scores
  2. 2

    Pool of at least 15 next-highest scorers; remaining places from the Pool by criteria 4

    The policy's own words
    2 Following the allocation of places as described in criterion 1, a pool (the ‘Pool’) will be established, and the remaining places (if any) shall be allocated from the Pool.
  3. 3

    If places remain, girls who did not take SEAG, allocated by criteria 4

    The policy's own words
    3 | If, following the application of criteria 1 and 2 above, all the available places have not been filled, the School will |
  4. 4

    (i) Enrolled in the Preparatory Department as of 1 September 2023

    The policy's own words
    (i) girls enrolled in the School’s Preparatory Department as of 1 September 2023;
  5. 5

    (ii) Sibling currently in Secondary Department or accepted for September 2025

    The policy's own words
    (ii) girls with a child of the family currently enrolled in the School’s Secondary Department
  6. 6

    (iii) Eldest child (eldest or only girl) of the family

    The policy's own words
    (iii) | girls who are the eldest child of the family in September 2025
  7. 7

    (iv) Highest Scores

    The policy's own words
    (iv) | girls with the highest Scores; |
  8. 8

    (v) Entitled to Free School Meals

    The policy's own words
    (v) | girls who are entitled to Free School Meals ; |
  9. 9

    (vi) Child of the family who attended the Secondary Department

    The policy's own words
    (vi) | girls with a child of the family who has attended the School’s Secondary Department
  10. 10

    (vii) Child of the family at Campbell College (Years 8-14 or accepted for September 2025)

    The policy's own words
    (vii) girls with a child of the family currently enrolled in Years 8 to 14 or accepted for enrolment in September 2025, in Campbell College
  11. 11

    (viii) Final place: home closer to the School (straight-line distance)

    The policy's own words
    (viii) if more than one girl is eligible for the final place, priority will be given to the girl whose home is closer to the School.

Source: Strathearn School, checked

More detail from our guide

Please read this section with care. The most recent criteria on the school's website are for September 2025 entry, two years ago (ADMISSIONS CRITERIA YEAR 8 2025-2026 (Appendix 1, Strathearn School 2025 prospectus)Strathearn School: Document title (2025)Checked 9 Oct 2026 against Strathearn School.The source says: Appendix 1 ADMISSION TO YEAR 8 2024-25 ... Admissions Policy ADMISSIONS CRITERIA YEAR 8 2025-2026View the official source). We could not find criteria for 2026 or 2027 entry. Newer criteria are expected before the transfer application opens, and they may differ.

Under the September 2025 rules, the order was: Rank order of Total Standardised Age Score for 110 places, then a Pool (at least 15 girls: all girls on the three next highest Scores, extended as needed) from which remaining places are allocated by criteria (i)-(viii).Strathearn School: Selection metric (2025)Checked 9 Oct 2026 against Strathearn School.The source says: The Pool will consist of at least 15 girls identified on the basis of the rank order of their respective Scores. The Pool will include all girls who achieved the three next highest Scores.View the official source Girls resident in Northern Ireland when they start were chosen before girls who were not.

Inside the pool, the further criteria ran in this order:

OrderPriority group (September 2025 criteria)
FirstGirls in Strathearn's Preparatory Department
SecondA sister or other child of the family now in the senior school, or accepted for the same September
ThirdThe eldest or only girl in the family
FourthHighest scores
FifthGirls entitled to free school meals
SixthA child of the family who attended the senior school in the past
SeventhA child of the family at Campbell College
LastStraight-line distance (Ordnance Survey web tool) from front door of home to the front entrance of the main administrative building; nearer first.Strathearn School: Final tie break (2025)Checked 9 Oct 2026 against Strathearn School.The source says: (viii) if more than one girl is eligible for the final place, priority will be given to the girl whose home is closer to the School. Distance will be measured in a straight line using an Ordnance Survey web distance measurement tool f from the front door of the girl’s home to the front entrance of the School’s main administrative building.View the official source

Note the link with Campbell College, also on Belmont Road, which has a matching rule for families with a daughter at Strathearn. Twins and other multiples each count as the eldest.

No SEAG result. Girls who did not sit the test came last: Considered only if places remain after criteria 1 and 2; remaining places allocated by criteria 4.Strathearn School: Applicants without result (2025)Checked 9 Oct 2026 against Strathearn School.The source says: If, following the application of criteria 1 and 2 above, all the available places have not been filled, the School will consider for admission any girls who have not taken the SEAG assessment. Allocation of the remaining places will be made by applying the criteria listed in 4 below.View the official source

Special circumstances. A claim worked like this: Form SC (from the School) with documentary evidence attached to the Transfer Application; a panel of Governors determines a score using P5-P7 standardised tests and comparative class data.Strathearn School: Special circumstances (2025)Checked 9 Oct 2026 against Strathearn School.The source says: Parents who wish to apply to the School under Special Circumstances should complete Form SC obtainable from the School and attach it with appropriate documentary evidence to the Transfer Application, as detailed below.View the official source If you think you may need to claim, talk to your daughter's primary school early about the records it holds.

Waiting list. Refused Year 8 applicants automatically added; list runs to the end of Year 8; vacancies after EA placement letters filled by applying the published criteria.Strathearn School: Waiting listChecked 9 Oct 2026 against Strathearn School.The source says: For Year 8, all applications for admission to Year 8 that were initially refused will be automatically added to the waiting list. ... This waiting list will be in place until the end of the following academic year, that is, the end of 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

Girls applying to Strathearn need to have sat the SEAG test to be considered in the first round. The school uses the overall TSAS, so the band on the Statement of Outcomes is not what decides a place.

Strathearn is a SEAG centre as well. For girls sitting there, the school plans a visit before test day: Familiarisation afternoon on 19 October (2026) at 4pm for children sitting SEAG at Strathearn; SEAG on Saturday 14 and 21 November 2026, 10am to about 11.15am.Strathearn School: Seag familiarisationChecked 9 Oct 2026 against Strathearn School.The source says: SEAG assessments will be held on the following dates: - Saturday 14 November 2026. - Saturday 21 November 2026. The assessments will start at 10am and finish at approximately 11.15am. It is Strathearn's intention to run a familiarisation afternoon on 19 October at 4pm.View the official source A first look at the room and the routine can take some of the strangeness out of the real morning.

For a plain guide to the papers and scores, read 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 Morning (passed)

    9:15am - 12:30pm (Principal’s talks 09:30am, 10:30am and 11:30am)

Source: Strathearn 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.

When Strathearn cannot offer a place, the Education Authority sends details of how to appeal. Appeal panels in Northern Ireland check one thing: The school did not apply, or did not correctly apply, its admissions criteria.Northern Ireland: GroundsChecked 9 Oct 2026 against nidirect (NI Government).The source says: You can appeal if you think the school did not apply their admissions criteria or did not apply them correctly.View the official source They do not rewrite the criteria or weigh up how strong a girl's score is. Look out for the 2027 deadline, which 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

5 sources, each kept as an archived copy

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