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Our Lady's Grammar School

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1 Chequer Hill, Newry, BT35 6DY

Grammar · Girls · Voluntary · SEAG member

Pupils
923
Year 8
121
Council
Newry, Mourne and Down

Open events

Your chances

against these criteria.

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

  1. Girls awarded SEAG Band 1, or whose special circumstances or provisions claims are accepted as comparable.
  2. Girls awarded SEAG Band 2, or whose special circumstances or provisions claims are accepted as comparable.
  3. Girls awarded SEAG Band 3, or whose special circumstances or provisions claims are accepted as comparable.
  4. Girls awarded SEAG Band 4, or whose special circumstances or provisions claims are accepted as comparable.
  5. Girls awarded SEAG Band 5, or whose special circumstances or provisions claims are accepted as comparable.
  6. Girls awarded SEAG Band 6, or whose special circumstances or provisions claims are accepted as comparable.
  7. All other girls who have applied to the school.
  8. Sub-criterion (i): girls with a parent or guardian on the permanent teaching, administrative or ancillary staff.
  9. Sub-criterion (ii): girls with another child of the family enrolled or selected for the coming year.
  10. Sub-criterion (iii): girls registered as entitled to Free School Meals, with a proportional reserve of places.
  11. Tie-break: computer-based ranking of applicants by name where oversubscription remains.

The school's criteria

Getting in

7 of the 123 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: the lowest band admitted was Band 6. source

For September 2026 entry, 129 applications were considered for 120 places. Places ran out at criterion Tie-breaker: Within criterion 6 (Band 6), a computer-generated ranking number selected the final applicant; the printed final random number is 2438. EA statement

Applications per place (all preferences): 0.8 in 2024/25, 1.1 in 2025/26, 1.1 in 2026/27.

Results for its intake

Expected about 93%, got 99.3% (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.

Who applied

Applications by the preference families gave the school, and children admitted
YearPlacesPut it 1st2nd3rd or laterAdmitted
2024/25120875193
2025/26120106230122
2026/2712012351120

In 2026/27, 116 of the 123 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
11.3%
Special educational needs
34 pupils (8 with a statement)
Has Years 13 and 14
Yes
Area
Urban

Religious background of pupilsProtestant hidden (fewer than 5 pupils), Catholic 95.4%, other or none not published

Exam results (2024/25)

5+ GCSEs A* to C, with English and maths
99.3%
5+ GCSEs A* to C
100%
3+ A-levels A* to C
80.7%
2+ A-levels A* to E
100%
Year 12 pupils counted
146
A-level pupils counted
109

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

Admissions

From the school's admissions criteria for September 2026.

Year 8 places: 120 (whole school: 860)

Applications and admissions in recent years
YearPlacesApplications (all preferences)Admitted
2023/24120137121
2024/25120106106
2025/26120128123

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

School's note: *includes Appeals and Temporary Variations. **The Total Admissions for year 2026/2027 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 5420060

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