Rainey Endowed School
Admissions Criteria - For Entry of Pupils into Sixth Form (Years 13 – 14)
1. General Information
The Board of Governors, having agreed the criteria for admission to the School, has delegated to the
Headmaster and members of Senior Management the authority to deal with the day to day work
associated with the entry of Pupils into the School, other than to Form One, and to decide which
particular applicants shall be admitted to the School in accordance with the School’s Admissions
Criteria and any appropriate statutory regulations issued by the Department of Education.
The Board of Governors of Rainey Endowed School will consider for acceptance into Sixth Form
those pupils who have the ability to cope with Grammar School standards. These pupils will be
expected to subscribe to the aims of the School as formulated by the Board of Governors and stated
in School publications.
Decisions at any stage will be taken on the basis of relevant information available at that time.
These decisions will be reported to the full Board. Where the overall School enrolment number is
likely to be exceeded, it is left to the Headmaster to decide which year groups shall have priority in
the allocation of places.
The Board of Governors reserves the right to require such supplementary evidence as it may
determine to support or verify information when making an application to the School.
Parent(s)/Guardian(s) should note that they may be asked to produce documents verifying
information pertinent to the School's Admissions Criteria. Original documents are required;
facsimiles or photocopies are not acceptable.
The provision of false or incorrect information or the failure to provide information within the
deadlines set by the School will result in the withdrawal of a place or the inability of the School to
offer a place.
It is the sole responsibility of parent(s)/guardian(s) to ensure that all information relevant to
the Admissions Criteria of the School is provided at the time of submission to the School for
admission.
2. Admissions Criteria - For Entry of Pupils into Sixth Form (Years 13 – 14)
The following General Academic Admissions Criteria are required for entry to Lower Sixth from
pupils currently enrolled at Rainey Endowed:
(i) A minimum of three B grades and three C grades in GCSE
(ii) Passes at grade B or above in those subjects to be taken for AS Level (or in a related subject
where a GCSE is not a prerequisite for AS study)
(iii) A pass at grade C or above in GCSE English. (This is a University entrance requirement.)
(iv) A pass at grade C or above in GCSE Mathematics for pupils taking any one of the following
AS Levels: Applied Business, Applied ICT, Biology, Business Studies, Chemistry, Design
& Technology, Geography, Home Economics, Mathematics, Physical Education, Physics or
Psychology
(v) A pass at grade D or above in GCSE Mathematics for pupils taking any combination of the
following AS Levels: Art & Design, English Literature, French, History, Music, Religious
Studies or Spanish.
(vi) In certain circumstances, for only one of the subjects chosen for AS level, a grade C at
GCSE in that subject may be acceptable following a recommendation by the HOD.
NB Pupils who obtain a Grade D in GCSE Mathematics will be required to resit Mathematics in
November and if unsuccessful resit it again in June. (A GCSE pass in Mathematics is a
University entrance requirement.)
Pupils should ensure that they meet the specific academic requirements detailed for individual
subjects and should also note that some subjects can be taken for AS Level even if not studied at
GCSE. Occasionally a Sixth Form subject is over-subscribed, in which case internal decisions will
be made regarding selection for these courses. Conversely, where a course is not viable it may not
be run.
Preference will be given to pupils currently enrolled at the school who wish to return to Sixth Form
and who have met the above criteria. The remaining places will be made available to external
applications. From these applications, where the school is over subscribed for Sixth Form entry, the
Headmaster will apply the following criterion:
The pupil’s best six GCSE results would be chosen and allocated points:
A* = 4 points
A = 3 points
B = 2 points
C = 1 point
GCSE Short Course grades will be awarded half these points.
The total points would be put into a rank order and places appointed according to this order from
the highest to the lowest.
In the case where, having applied the above criterion, more applications than places available
exist, the admissions criteria used for entry to Form One (Year 8) will then be applied.
It has become evident over the past number of years that by far the majority of those pupils who
underachieve in Sixth Form are associated with poor motivation, poor attendance, poor time
keeping and uncooperative behaviour. In addition to obtaining the necessary GCSE grades for entry
to the Sixth Form the school regards it as reasonable to expect that any pupil entering Sixth Form in
the Rainey will have had:
(a)
a record of regular attendance
(b)
a record of good time keeping and attendance at class
(c)
a record of co-operative behaviour and a positive attitude to study
Where any of the above have not been the case the Headmaster may refuse to admit a pupil to the
Sixth Form or may admit him/her conditional upon interview between the pupil, his/her parents and
the Headmaster in August and the pupil's and parents' acceptance of a contract with the school.
Attendance
Where a pupil's absences are substantial (15% absence in one year) except where such failure to
attend has been as a result of medical circumstances for which evidence has been supplied, or where
the parent had obtained the written agreement of the Headmaster for the pupil's extended absence,
then such a record of attendance will be deemed as failing to meet the criterion of 'regular
attendance'. The record of attendance will be determined by the C2K Registration System
(Sims.net) as used in Post-Primary Schools in Northern Ireland.
Whether or not a pupil's time keeping and attendance at class has been good will be determined by
reference to
 Sims.net as used in Post-Primary Schools in Northern Ireland
 The Late Book - kept in the School Office
 Teachers' Registers/Lesson Monitor - as maintained on a period by period basis
A record should demonstrate less than 15% per year of poor time keeping unless exceptional
circumstances existed.
Behaviour and Attitude
Evidence of a record of co-operative behaviour and a positive attitude to study will be determined
by:
 Reference to the school end of term reports and any interim reports or Year Head records which
may have been written during Forms 4 and 5 including, for example, evidence of effort and
organisation. Details of the deliberate breach of school rules or the continued failure to submit
GCSE coursework by the agreed timetable will also be considered.
 The Detention Book for Forms 4 and 5. Where a pupil has been placed in Detention for
disciplinary matters on more than three occasions, he/she will be deemed not to have had a
record of co-operative behaviour.
 Where a pupil has been suspended on more than one occasion for a disciplinary matter during
their GCSE Years (Forms 4 and 5) then he/she will be deemed not to have had a record of
co-operative behaviour.
Applicants from other schools will be expected to meet the academic criteria and supply a reference
from the principal of their previous school giving details of their behaviour and attendance record.
These criteria will be applied by the Headmaster in conjunction with the Vice-Principals and
relevant Year Heads.
Criteria for any extra places made available by the Department of Education for admission
into Year 13 (Sixth Form)
The Department of Education may, in response to a request from a school, increase the number of
pupils that the school can admit to its Year 13 (Lower Sixth). Places that become available in this
way shall be allocated only to pupils who meet the basic eligibility criteria for sixth form study (as
above) and shall be allocated in the order determined by the criteria to be applied in the order set
down.
1.
2.
Pupils who have most recently completed Year 12 (Form 5) in Rainey Endowed School.
Pupils from other schools where admission to an extra place at Rainey Endowed School has
been agreed by the Department of Education*.
*Parents should note how the Department of Education (DE) will, in response to a school’s request,
increase the school’s enrolment number in order to allow an extra post-16 pupil to enrol. DE will
only increase the school’s enrolment number if it is content that each external pupil for whom a
place is requested would not be able to pursue their post-16 course-choices at a suitable school
without undertaking an unreasonable journey (i.e. a journey that by public transport would be over
an from where the young person lives). If DE finds that no other suitable school may provide all of
the post-16 courses that the pupil wishes to pursue – then DE will agree a school’s request for an
extra place.
What is a school of a type that is suitable for a pupil? To determine this, DE first considers all
schools to be one of 4 types: (i) denominational (ii) non-denominational (iii) Integrated and (iv)
Irish-medium. A school requesting an extra place for a post-16 pupil will belong to one of these 4
types and DE will consider any other school or school from this same type as suitable for the pupil.
DE will also consider as suitable for the pupil any school from the same type as that attended by the
child in Year 12.
Entry to Upper Sixth:
Results in AS examinations are important indicators of success at A2 level. Progression into
Upper Sixth remains at the discretion of the school and will be reviewed once the AS results are
published using the following scoring system:
A = 60 points
B = 50 points
D = 30 points
E = 20 points
C = 40 points
U=0
Pupils who achieve a total score of 100 points or less will be reviewed. Their return to study at
A2 level will not be guaranteed until a meeting takes place with the Headmaster or his Deputy.
Pupils must be accompanied by a parent/guardian in order to review progression into Upper
Sixth. The purpose of this meeting is to determine the best way forward for the pupil. Some of
the following strategies may be implemented:
• A discussion with parents about the best way forward.
• Modules may be identified to be re-taken in January of Upper Sixth.
• Regular meetings with a teacher mentor, to discuss progress and targets, will be arranged.
• A decision to leave Rainey Endowed School and pursue an alternative course of study.
All Lower Sixth pupils wishing to progress into Upper Sixth should be aware of the following:
• A pass at AS-level subject (grade A – E) is required to take that subject at A2
• A minimum of two AS-level subjects must be passed to return to take A2 subjects.
If performance in one or more AS-levels has been poor, pupils must consult with subject teachers
about the feasibility of studying the same subject(s) at A2 level. In some cases, if an AS Level
subject is passed at grade E, pupils may be advised not to continue with that subject at A2.
A pupil’s attitude and commitment to his/her school studies and to the school community (high
levels of attendance and punctuality form part of a student’s commitment to his/her work) will also
be considered for entry to Upper Sixth.