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Methodist College

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1 Malone Road, Belfast, BT9 6BY

Grammar · Mixed · Voluntary · SEAG member

Pupils
1,855
Year 8
248
Council
Belfast

Open events

Your chances

against these criteria.

How it chooses when it has more applicants than places, in order:

  1. First 200 places from the admissions number allocated by rank order of SEAG Total Standardised Age Score
  2. From a pool of around 60 remaining applicants, children entitled to Free School Meals (sub-criterion 2.1.i)
  3. Present members of the College Preparatory Department (sub-criterion 2.1.ii)
  4. Children of Methodist Ministers (sub-criterion 2.1.iii)
  5. Siblings presently enrolled in the Secondary Department or already offered a place (sub-criterion 2.1.iv)
  6. Tie-break: higher SEAG Total Standardised Age Score ranked first (criterion 2.2.i)
  7. Final tie-break: computer-based random ranking (criterion 2.2.ii)

The school's criteria

Getting in

41 of the 256 children who put it first were not offered a place in 2026/27.

Places depend mostly on the SEAG score, so how many apply says little on its own.

For September 2026 entry: places by SEAG score went to 211 and above; the lowest SEAG score admitted was 196. source

For September 2026 entry, 311 applications were considered for 240 places. Places ran out at criterion 2.2.i: The last place was shortlisted under this pool subcriterion. EA statement

Applications per place (all preferences): 1.9 in 2024/25, 1.3 in 2025/26, 1.3 in 2026/27.

Results for its intake

Expected about 97%, got 97.6% (5+ GCSEs A* to C with English and maths, 2024/25).

0%50%100%0%20%40%Pupils on free school meals
Each dot is a grammar school with 30 or more Year 12 pupils. The dashed line is what schools usually get at each free school meals level.

School life

  • Sport: Rowing source
  • Voluntary contribution £590 a year source

Who applied

Applications by the preference families gave the school, and children admitted
YearPlacesPut it 1st2nd3rd or laterAdmitted
2024/252403655249240
2025/262402602426240
2026/272402563119240

In 2026/27, 215 of the 256 children who put it first got a place here.

Each child counts once, at the preference their family gave this school. Figures at the end of the admissions procedure, from the Education Authority's analysis of preferences.

Pupils (October 2025)

Free school meals
7.5%
Special educational needs
132 pupils (45 with a statement)
Has Years 13 and 14
Yes
Area
Urban

Religious background of pupilsProtestant 30.5%, Catholic 19.7%, other or none 49.8%

Exam results (2024/25)

5+ GCSEs A* to C, with English and maths
97.6%
5+ GCSEs A* to C
98.8%
3+ A-levels A* to C
77.2%
2+ A-levels A* to E
99.3%
Year 12 pupils counted
253
A-level pupils counted
276

Source: Department of Education, SAER 2024/25, Open Government Licence.

Admissions

From the school's admissions criteria for September 2026.

Year 8 places: 240 (whole school: 1,810)

Applications and admissions in recent years
YearPlacesApplications (all preferences)Admitted
2023/24250347251
2024/25240473240
2025/26240310248

Applications count every family that named the school at any preference, not only first preferences.

School's note: + Temporary Variation; * Appeals Process; ** The Total Admissions for year 2025/2026 includes all Year 8 children admitted to the school including those who have a Statement of Special Educational Needs and/or may be attending SPiMS. (SPiMS = Specialist Provision in Mainstream School)

Uses transfer test results in its admissions criteria.

Sources

DENI reference 1420022

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