Sinn Féin MLA Karen Mullan has said the ‘cruel transfer test’ should be scrapped and the undue stress removed from children.

The Foyle MLA said:

“I echo the call of mental health champion Siobhán O’Neill for schools to prioritise children’s mental health and scrap the use of the transfer test next year.  

“In a normal year it’s unacceptable to select and reject young children based on their performance in an unregulated test, but this year it is particularly cruel.

“These tests place undue and unnecessary stress on our children at a time where they have already faced so much disruption as a result of the public health emergency.

“Continuation of transfer tests is in complete contradiction to the overwhelming majority of evidence into academic selection and they should be scrapped altogether.”