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A new center in Belfast is set to provide free transfer test tutoring to children from low-income families, aiming to “level the playing field” for educational opportunities.
The Foodstock Education and Empowerment Centre will work to improve outcomes for disadvantaged children throughout the city.
The centre will offer free, high-quality tuition and wellbeing support to primary school pupils in years six and seven.
Former world champion boxer Carl Frampton, a supporter of the initiative, spoke at the center’s launch event.
“My own child is going through the test, and I know how stressful it can be,” Frampton told BBC News NI.
“There are kids that have ability but just need a bit of help. It’s stressful for me, and I am lucky to be comfortable financially, but there are others struggling so much – this is just about giving kids who are able opportunities.”
Frampton also commended the center’s cross-community focus and highlighted the importance of its central location within the city.
“You know what this place is like – it can be very tribal, and people maybe don’t want to go here or there or whatever,” he stated.
“But to have a central location willing to help anybody that needs their help, I just think it’s an amazing thing.”
The center will provide weekly small group tuition in English, Maths, and reasoning, preparing children for the Schools’ Entrance Assessment Group (SEAG) tests.
More than 60 post-primary schools across Northern Ireland use the test to determine admissions into year eight.
A 2022 Queen’s University paper suggested that academic selection perpetuates societal divisions in Northern Ireland and “disadvantages the already most disadvantaged.”
Foodstock founder Paul Doherty stated the initiative will “tackle the longer impacts of poverty through education” and will “empower people to better their lives.”
“A lot of people say because of financial difficulties they cannot afford additional tuition and they are pulling their child out of the transfer test,” he said.
“We talk about removing barriers when it comes to hunger through breakfast programmes – this is removing other barriers when it comes to education.”
One-to-one support will also be available for children facing specific challenges.
Eligibility will prioritize pupils most in need, including those from areas of high deprivation or low-income families.
Foodstock noted that private tuition doubled the likelihood of grammar school attendance, a resource less accessible to disadvantaged children.
The tuition program aims to “level the playing field for children across Belfast,” according to the organization.
Foodstock’s director of strategy, Ciaran Toman, expressed his belief that the center will “reach people right across the city regardless of community,” with the ultimate goal of benefiting as many children as possible.
He added that the center could help provide “equal opportunity to those who are less fortunate and that the centre can plug that gap for disadvantaged children.”
Northern Ireland’s education minister is on a visit to Israel for what he calls a “fact-finding mission”.
Councillor Gary Hynds has agreed to issue an apology for the incident which took place at a council meeting behind closed doors.
Police say they believe three incidents in Strabane, including the smashing of a police car windscreen, are linked.
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The announcement comes more than two months after BBC News NI revealed Pól Deeds and Lee Reynolds had been offered the posts.
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