Article 28: Admission criteria
35.Article 28 substitutes Article 16 of the Education (Northern Ireland) Order 1997 to provide that, in drawing up its admissions criteria, the Board of Governors of a secondary school shall not include any reference to the academic ability or aptitude of a child (see also paragraph 56). Following consultation, the Department may make regulations about the content of schools’ admissions criteria including criteria that are to be included, any specific number or combination of criteria which should be included and if the criteria are to be applied in a specific sequence. Regulations may also enable the Department to intervene if concerned about the likely effect of a school’s proposed criteria on its admissions.