Admissions Criteria for entry September 2026 METHODIST COLLEGE BELFAST 1 Malone Road Belfast BT9 6BY Telephone No: 028 9020 5205 E-mail: info@mcb.belfast.ni.sch.uk Website: www.methody.org Principal: Mrs J Lendrum BA PGCE MEd PQH(NI) Chair of Board of Governors: Rev Niall Johnston MA BTh
Voluntary Grammar School Co-Educational Non-Denominational Age Range: 11-18 Admission No: 240 Enrolment No: 1810
OPEN EVENING INFORMATION An open night for pupils of P6 and P7 and their Parents/Guardians will be held in the school on Thursday 8th and Friday 9th January 2026 - 6.30pm – 9.00pm (There will be a presentation by the Principal in the Assembly Hall at 6.30pm, 7.30pm and again at 8.15pm). The prospectus will be available on the College’s website www.methody.org. CAPITAL FEE: £140 per annum. RESPECTIVE FUNCTIONS OF THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS AND PRINCIPAL IN RELATION TO ADMISSIONS TO THE SCHOOL The responsibility for selecting children for places on the basis of the following criteria is delegated by the Board of Governors to an Admissions Sub-Committee, which includes the Principal. These criteria have been approved by the Board of Governors of Methodist College Belfast (referred to herein as ‘the College’, see note 2 below for further explanation). Any reference herein to the term Board of Governors includes any Committee or Sub-Committee appointed by the Board of Governors for the purposes of applying the Admissions Criteria set out herein. There is a separate Form 1 (Year 8) Admissions Process for children with a Statement of Special Educational Needs. This is operated by the Education Authority. ADMISSIONS POLICY ENTRY TO FORM 1 (YEAR 8) 2026 - 2027 During the admissions procedure when applying the criteria, the Board of Governors will consider late applications received by 4pm on Tuesday 24th February 2026 to be equal to punctual applications received by 12 noon on Thursday 19th February 2026. When considering which children should be selected for admission, the Board of Governors will only take into account information which is detailed on or uploaded with the Transfer Application. Section 1.
Introduction
1.1
The Board of Governors of Methodist College Belfast intends to apply academic criteria to the applications received and so will accept the Total Standardised Age Score (referred to herein as ‘the score’) awarded by the Schools’ Entrance Assessment Group (referred to herein as ‘SEAG’) in the Entrance Assessment.
1.2
SEAG is very clear that its Entrance Assessment consists of two papers. A child who only takes one paper (i.e. either Paper 1 or Paper 2 but not both) will not have completed the full Entrance Assessment. Such children will, however, have their “single paper” marked and will receive a Statement of Outcomes. Outcomes for children who only sit one paper will have the designation “e” (for estimate) immediately after the Outcome, e.g. Total Standardised Age Score TSAS 196e; Band 3e. Such children will only be considered for admission by the Board of Governors under Special Provisions. If only one assessment was taken because of illness, or other unforeseen circumstances, a claim under Special Provisions should be submitted, which should include the estimated score for the SEAG paper sat, along with additional evidence of academic ability/attainment. The Board of Governors will also give due consideration to other claims for Special Circumstances or Special Provisions as explained in Section 3 and Section 4 of this policy.
1.3
The child’s unique pupil number and the score in the SEAG Entrance Assessment should be entered on the online Transfer Application. Parents/Guardians must also upload the Statement of Outcomes issued by SEAG with their child’s online Transfer Application.
Please note the Board of Governors does not consider the order in which Parents/Guardians list schools on the online post-primary Transfer Application as part of their Admissions Criteria. All applications are treated as equal. Updated December 2025
www.eani.org.uk/admissions