St Colmcille's High School, Crossgar: admissions and open evenings

1 Killyleagh Road, Crossgar, BT30 9EY

Non-selective · Mixed · Catholic maintained

against these criteria.

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

Parents or guardians resident in the parishes of Kilmore, Killyleagh, Loughinisland, or Saintfield – Carrickmannon.
Applicants entitled to Free School Meals, with proportion admitted not less than the proportion of first-preference FSM applications.
Pupils transferring from partner primary schools in the Criterion 1 parishes whose parents or guardians live outside those parishes.
Parents or guardians resident in the parishes of Dunsford & Ardglass and Drumbo.
Pupils with a brother or sister currently enrolled at the school at the date of application.
Oversubscription tie-break by randomised order of the initial letter of surname, then subsequent letters.

Uses a parish list: check it in the criteria.

Usually has spare places

Everyone who put it first was offered a place in 2026/27 (68 children).

Applications per place (all preferences): 0.5 in 2024/25, 0.7 in 2025/26, 0.8 in 2026/27.

Expected about 63%, got 53.3% (5+ GCSEs A* to C with English and maths, 2024/25).

Each dot is a non-selective school with 30 or more Year 12 pupils. The dashed line is what schools usually get at each free school meals level.

Applications by the preference families gave the school, and children admitted
Year	Places	Put it 1st	2nd	Admitted
2024/25	90	37	5	42
2025/26	90	56	4	60
2026/27	90	68	2	70

In 2026/27, 68 of the 68 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.

Religious background of pupilsProtestant 3.2%, Catholic 89.1%, other or none 7.8%

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

From the school's admissions criteria for September 2026.

Year 8 places: 90 (whole school: 450)

Applications and admissions in recent years
Year	Places	Applications (all preferences)	Admitted
2023/24	90	78	78
2024/25	90	40	40
2025/26	90	76	76

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

Does not use transfer test results in its admissions criteria.

DENI reference 4230102

St Colmcille's High School