St Dominic's High School, Belfast: admissions and open evenings

135-137 Falls Road, Belfast, BT12 6AE

Grammar · Girls · Voluntary · SEAG member

Pupils: 1,062
Year 8: 146
Council: Belfast

Open events

Open day Sat 16 Jan (check with the school)Add to calendar source

Your chances

against these criteria.

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

Applicants awarded SEAG Band 1, or special circumstances/provisions cases judged of comparable ability.
Applicants awarded SEAG Band 2, or special circumstances/provisions cases judged of comparable ability.
Applicants awarded SEAG Band 3, or special circumstances/provisions cases judged of comparable ability.
Applicants awarded SEAG Band 4, or special circumstances/provisions cases judged of comparable ability.
Applicants awarded SEAG Band 5, or special circumstances/provisions cases judged of comparable ability.
Applicants awarded SEAG Band 6, or special circumstances/provisions cases judged of comparable ability.
Sub-criterion (a): a sister (including half, step, adopted or foster sister) who is or was a pupil at the school.
Sub-criterion (b): a sister as in (a) who qualified for entry in the current admissions year (2026-27), e.g. a twin.
Sub-criterion (c): eldest girl of the family eligible to transfer, including only children; multiples are joint eldest. Verifying letter required.
Sub-criterion (d): a Child Looked After, as defined in Department of Education guidance.
Sub-criterion (e): entitled to Free School Meals on the Education Authority register by 24 February 2026.
Within a sub-criterion, higher SEAG TSAS (or allocated Band and TSAS) ranks first.
Final tie-break: shortest straight-line distance from the school entrance gate on the Falls Road to the home.

The school's criteria

Getting in

29 of the 162 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, 186 applications were considered for 141 places. Places ran out at criterion 4(a): The final five places were allocated within Criterion 4(a) by SEAG TSAS rank order. EA statement

Applications per place (all preferences): 1.5 in 2024/25, 1.2 in 2025/26, 1.3 in 2026/27.

Results for its intake

Expected about 82%, got 100% (5+ GCSEs A* to C with English and maths, 2024/25).

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

School day 8.50am to 3.10pm source

Who applied

Applications by the preference families gave the school, and children admitted
Year	Places	Put it 1st	2nd	3rd or later	Admitted
2024/25	141	186	19	8	141
2025/26	141	155	7	9	141
2026/27	141	162	16	7	141

In 2026/27, 133 of the 162 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: 23.1%
Special educational needs: 47 pupils (28 with a statement)
Has Years 13 and 14: Yes
Area: Urban

Religious background of pupilsProtestant 0.5%, Catholic 92.8%, other or none 6.7%

Exam results (2024/25)

5+ GCSEs A* to C, with English and maths: 100%
5+ GCSEs A* to C: 100%
3+ A-levels A* to C: 93.3%
2+ A-levels A* to E: 100%
Year 12 pupils counted: 156
A-level pupils counted: 119

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

Admissions

From the school's admissions criteria for September 2026.

Year 8 places: 141 (whole school: 966)

Applications and admissions in recent years
Year	Places	Applications (all preferences)	Admitted
2023/24	141	178	145
2024/25	141	214	144
2025/26	141	172	146

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

School's note: * Includes Special Educational Needs students.

Uses transfer test results in its admissions criteria. Uses SEAG Entrance Assessment Band, with Total Standardised Age Score (TSAS) as a sub-criterion.

Open event: Open Day Saturday 10 January 2026, 9.00am to 1pm.

Sources

DE school census 2025/26
Department of Education, SAER 2024/25
EA analysis of preferences
School admissions criteria, checked 16 October 2026
SEAG member schools list, checked 15 October 2026
School website, checked 16 October 2026
OpenStreetMap (school address)
ETI, checked 17 October 2026

DENI reference 1420029

St Dominic's High School