GREAT OPINION PIECE WRITTEN BY A STUDENT FRUSTRATED OVER THE FOOT-DRAGGING ON THE LEGAL COMMITMENT TO FOSTER INTEGRATED SCHOOLING
NI SCHOOLS SUED FOR RELIGIOUS INDOCTRINATION (News Letter, Nov 2021)
- the role of the church and segregation on religious lines (the Catholic church runs many schools, though they are state-funded, while many 'state' schools are largely Protestant - with religious assemblies but no Protestant church involvement); integrated schools with no religious demographic are STILL a small majority
- selection/grammar schools. NI children mostly have to sit entry exams aged 11 (the 'eleven-plus') in order to get into a grammar school. Those who fail will have access to a narrower range of academic subjects and sit foundation GCSEs, maximum grade C/5. SDLP, Alliance, SF all oppose selection by test.
Other issues:
- the History syllabus is always going to be contested
- likewise the texts/writers chosen for the English/Literature syllabus
- Citizenship/PSE become controversial in NI too, with the ultra-conservative DUP plus Catholic church opposed to teaching elements of basic sexual and reproductive health
- the status of Irish language, which is traditionally compulsory in Catholic schools but not taught in state schools
MOMENTUM BEHIND INTEGRATED AS 69% SUPPORT END TO RELIGIOUSLY SEGREGATED SCHOOLS
Guardian article shows that behind the negative headlines a more integrated NI is emerging.
THE UK PICTURE - 20%!!!!
I usually avoid Fiona Millar's opinion pieces, but there's a statistic in there that was an eye opener to me - a full '20% of pupils in England feel the impact of the 11-plus tests'.
JANUARY 2021: ROW OVER 11+ COVID CANCELLATIONS
This is brewing into a big row, with the DUP blocking attempts by SF, SDLP and Alliance to order the cancellation of all of these, as in this BBC article (here's another opinion piece on the 11+ exam from Belfast Telegraph, including its history). Since my schooldays an already questionable system has intensified - most kids now sit multiple tests in formal exam conditions from two exam boards on multiple Saturdays, and pay for the privilege of this extreme stress and life-changing judgement of young children.
My memory of this is the whole final year of primary school being centred on preparing for this test - and being alone in my circle of friends in passing it, meaning we went to different secondary schools. As with A-Level exams (as distinct from coursework, which the Con government/Michael Gove have sought to undermine and minimise) there is a clear link between social class and success, with many middle-class parents paying for additional private tuition outside of school.
I credit my younger sister HB here for briefing me on how it works today - but also note that I get a lot of useful stories and updates through my Google news feed: if you open the Google app and look down you'll have a customisable news feed.
This came through that news feed - an article about (non-sectarian) street/wall art/murals in Belfast, known for the Provo/UVF displays but actually now home to increasing art displays. That development certainly struck me on my last pre-covid stay in Belfast.
Above - two images from July 2019 trip to show that, 11+ notwithstanding, there is social change in NI. Non-sectarian public art is flourishing while the traditional boundary marking red/white/blue or green/white/orange kerbstone painting is joined by rainbow kerbs marking a recognised LGBT+ corner. Teaching anything that promotes non-binary or non-hetero as normal remains highly contentious in the NI schooling system decades after Thatcher's Clause 28 was ditched by PM John Major.
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