🏫 Belfast High School – SEAG Practice Papers with Video Explanations
Voluntary Grammar School | Co-educational | Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland | Ages 11–18
📚 History of Belfast High School
Belfast High School (BHS) was founded in 1854 and has over 170 years of educational tradition. Originally established in Belfast city centre, the school relocated to its current site on the Shore Road, Newtownabbey, in 1953, where it occupies a scenic 50-acre campus known as Ardenlee.
The school is proud of its motto: “Nil Sine Labore” (Nothing Without Work), which reflects its commitment to hard work, achievement, and personal development. BHS is a non-denominational, co-educational grammar school with a focus on inclusive academic excellence and strong pastoral care.
👨🎓 Pupil Numbers & School Structure
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Total Pupils: ~1,050
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Year 8 Intake: ~140–150 pupils
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Sixth Form: ~250 students
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Gender: Co-educational
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Age Range: 11–18
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School Type: Voluntary Grammar School
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Religious Affiliation: Non-denominational (inclusive Christian ethos)
🎓 Academic Reputation
Belfast High School is well-respected in the Greater Belfast area for its strong academic outcomes and excellent support systems. It offers a broad curriculum, including traditional A-Level pathways and some applied subjects, which allows pupils of varied interests and abilities to thrive.
✅ Academic Strengths:
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Solid performance in Sciences, English, Business Studies, History, and Art & Design
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Offers academic enrichment and careers support, with excellent UCAS guidance
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Popular choice for families seeking a well-rounded, inclusive grammar education
📊 Academic Results:
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GCSEs:
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~95–97% of pupils achieve 5+ GCSEs at grades A–C*, including English and Maths
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~75–80% of grades at A–B*
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A-Levels:
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~80% of grades at A–C*
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Many students progress to Queen’s University Belfast, Ulster University, and other UK institutions
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🏫 Belfast High School – Contact Information
School Name: Belfast High School
Type: Co-educational Voluntary Grammar School (Ages 11–18)
Location: Newtownabbey, near Belfast, Northern Ireland
📍 Address:
Belfast High School
740 Shore Road
Newtownabbey
County Antrim
BT37 0PX
Northern Ireland
United Kingdom
☎️ Telephone:
+44 (0)28 9037 1361
📧 Email:
🌐 Website:
https://www.belfasthigh.org.uk
📱 Social Media:
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Twitter/X: @belfasthigh
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Facebook: Belfast High School
You can view the school’s location on the map below:
SEAG Score Needed to get into Belfast High School
Below is historical scores for Belfast High School from 2023 to 2014.
2023 Lowest Grade – AQE – 101
2022 Lowest Grade – AQE – 97
2021 N/A
2020 Lowest Grade – AQE – 102
2019 Lowest Grade – AQE – 99
2018 Lowest Grade – AQE – 101
2017 Lowest Grade – AQE – 99
2016 Lowest Grade – AQE – 101
2015 Lowest Grade – AQE – 95
2014 Lowest Grade – AQE – 99
As you can see from the above stats 102 in AQE test in recent years will have got you into Belfast High School. The highest score needed was 102 in both 2020 and 101 score needed in 2023 and 2018.
A 102 score in old AQE test is equivalent to 198 in new SEAG test, so based on past intake a minimum score of 198+ in SEAG test would give your child a very high chance of getting accepted into Belfast High School.
SEAG Comparison with historical AQE and PPTC outcomes:
| Approx PPTC / GL Equivalent SAS | SEAG TSAS | Approx AQE Equivalent SAS | SEAG Band | SEAG Cohort Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 282 | 282 | 130 | 1 | 100 |
| 258 | 236 | 1 | 90 | |
| 249 | 224 | 113 | 1 | 80 |
| 242 | 215 | 109 | 1 | 70 |
| 236 | 207 | 106 | 1 | 60* |
| 231 | 200 | 103 | 2 | 50* |
| 226 | 193 | 99 | 3 | 40* |
| 220 | 185 | 94 | 4 | 30* |
| 214 | 175 | 88 | 5 | 20* |
| 200 | <175 | 6 | <20 |
*This is the minimum cohort percentile needed for that Band
Two examples:
A SEAG TSAS of 215 would be “equivalent” to a PPTC SAS of about 242 or an AQE SAS of about 109. A SEAG TSAS of 185 would be “equivalent” to a PPTC SAS of about 220 or an AQE SAS of about 94.
| Minimum PPTC /GL SAS needed for Grade | PPTC/ GL Grade | Approx Equivalent SEAG TSAS |
|---|---|---|
| 234 | A | 206 |
| 229 | B1 | 197 |
| 224 | B2 | 190 |
| 219 | C1 | 183 |
| 213 | C2 | 174 |
| <213 | D | <174 |
How to Use ExamTutor SEAG Transfer Test Practice Papers (with Video Explanations) to Achieve High Scores for Belfast High School
Preparing for the SEAG Transfer Test effectively is crucial to securing a place at highly competitive grammar schools like Belfast High School. To secure a place, students must achieve a high score in the SEAG Transfer Test. ExamTutor’s SEAG Practice Test Papers with Video Explanations provide a structured and effective way to prepare, ensuring students are fully familiar with the question types and exam format used in the 11+ entrance exam.
How ExamTutor SEAG Practice Papers with Video Explanations Help Students Succeed
1. Mirrors the SEAG Transfer Test Format
ExamTutor’s practice papers mirror the GL Assessment SEAG test format, covering:
📌 English – Reading comprehension, grammar, punctuation, and vocabulary.
📌 Mathematics – Numerical reasoning, arithmetic, and problem-solving.
✔ By practicing with ExamTutor papers, students become familiar with the structure and content of the SEAG entrance exam, improving confidence and performance.
2. Identify Weak Areas & Improve Performance with a Structured Study Plan
A structured study plan is essential for SEAG Transfer Test success. Our practice papers:
✔ Help identify weaker subjects at the earliest stage.
✔ Allow students to focus on specific question types where they struggle.
✔ Include detailed answer explanations so students understand their mistakes and improve.
📌 Tip: Encourage your child to take regular timed practice tests to build exam stamina and confidence.
3. Boost Confidence with Video Explanations
Some SEAG transfer Test question types can be challenging for students. Our tutor-led video explanations:
🎥 Break down complex questions step by step
🎥 Teach proven problem-solving techniques
🎥 Show shortcuts and strategies to save time in the exam
🎥 Help students reinforce learning and build confidence
How to Use Video Explanations Effectively:
✅ Review incorrect answers with video solutions – Identify and correct mistakes early.
✅ Take notes on key strategies – Record important problem-solving techniques for future reference.
✅ Rewatch explanations for difficult topics – Reinforce learning by revisiting challenging areas.
✔ Video explanations ensure students fully understand concepts rather than just memorising answers.
4. Develop Strong Time Management & Exam Techniques
Success in the SEAG entrance exam isn’t just about knowledge—it’s also about:
✔ Time management – Completing questions quickly and accurately under exam conditions.
✔ Skipping tricky questions – Avoid wasting time on difficult questions and returning to them later.
✔ Eliminating wrong answers – Using logical reasoning to improve accuracy.
📌 Tip: Regular timed practice with ExamTutor tests ensures students develop these key exam skills.
5. Build Confidence Before the Big Day
Confidence is crucial for success in the SEAG exam. Our practice tests help by:
✔ Simulating real exam conditions – So students know exactly what to expect.
✔ Providing motivation through measurable improvement.
📌 Tip: Encourage your child to review their mistakes using our detailed video explanations to turn weaknesses into strengths.
Why Choose ExamTutor 11+ Practice Papers for SEAG transfer test Preparation?
✔ SEAG GL Assessment-style practice papers covering all tested subjects.
✔ Video explanations for step-by-step learning.
✔ Used successfully by thousands of students every year.
How to Get Started with ExamTutor Practice Papers
1️⃣ Take a practice test – Identify your child’s strengths and weaknesses.
2️⃣ Create a study plan – Focus on weaker areas while reinforcing strengths.
3️⃣ Practice regularly – Use ExamTutor timed papers to simulate real exam conditions.
4️⃣ Review mistakes using video explanations – Learn from errors and improve.
5️⃣ Track progress – Monitor scores over time to ensure continuous improvement.
📌 Tip: Start preparing at least 6–12 months before the exam to allow enough time for practice and improvement.
Belfast High School entry is highly competitive, but ExamTutor SEAG Practice Papers with Video Explanations provide a powerful tool to maximise your child’s success.
By mirroring the SEAG test format, identifying weak areas, improving time management, and building confidence, our practice tests give students the best chance of securing a high score and gaining admission to Belfast High School.
Why Choose ExamTutor 11+ Practice Papers for Belfast High School Preparation?
✔ SEAG style practice papers covering all tested subjects.
✔ Video explanations for step-by-step learning.
✔ Used successfully by thousands of pupils every year.
Achieving a high SEAG score for Belfast High School is very possible with the right strategy and tools. With ExamTutor’s exam-style papers and video explanations, you get both practice and expert guidance — exactly what’s needed to turn mistakes into mastery.
📌 Start preparing today with ExamTutor and set your child on the path to SEAG success! 🚀
📋 Admissions Criteria (Subject to Annual Review)
If the number of applications exceeds available places (~140–150), the school applies the following criteria:
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SEAG Transfer Test score, ranked highest to lowest
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Siblings of current or former pupils
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Children of staff or past pupils
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Pupils from contributory or feeder primary schools
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Proximity to school (tie-breaker)
✅ Special Circumstances and Provisions (e.g. illness, SEN, relocation) may be considered if supported by documentation.
📅 Admissions Timeline
| Stage | Date |
|---|---|
| SEAG Registration Opens | May |
| SEAG Registration Closes | September |
| SEAG Test Dates | November (2 Saturdays) |
| SEAG Results Sent to Parents | January |
| EA Application Opens | Late January |
| Application Deadline | February |
| Offers Announced | March |
SEAG Exam Information for ‘Belfast High School’.
The SEAG Group’ consists of 63 Grammar Schools in Northern Ireland that use academic selection for all or part of their Year 8 intake. The SEAG 2024 Entrance Assessment is for pupils who will be transferring to post primary schools and whose parents may be considering a place at a SEAG school for their child. Belfast High Schoolis a SEAG School. Belfast High School will use the results from the SEAG Test to determine who gets offered a place at the school.
SEAG Registration and Exam Details
Parents can register their child at the SEAG website at the following address. SEAG (seagni.co.uk).The SEAG Entrance Assessment consists of two papers. Both papers assess English and Mathematics and both have an identical format consisting of three Sections:
1st Section – The Practice Test Section
This section contains 5 English followed by 5 Maths questions. These questions are designed to help pupils settle before the Main Test begins. The Practice Test is not assessed or timed.
2nd Section – English Main Test.
The English section of the paper consists of 28 questions (Q1-Q28) and is broken down into 4 sections:
1) “Punctuation Exercise” containing 5 multiple choice questions.
2) “Grammar Exercise” 5 multiple choice questions.
3) “Spelling Exercise” with 5 multiple choice questions.
4) Comprehension”. Contains a passage and are then asked 13 questions on the passage; 7 of these are multiple choice (Q16-Q22). The final 6 questions (Q23-Q28) are described as “free response”; the pupil writes the answer to each in the space provided in the Answer Sheet.
3rd Section – Maths Main Test.
The Maths section also has 28 questions (Q29-Q56) and is broken down into 2 sections:
1) The first 22 Maths questions (Q29-Q50) are multiple choice questions.
2) The final 6 Maths questions (Q51-Q56) are described as “free response”. For each of these questions the pupil works out the correct answer and writes the answer in the space provided in the Answer Sheet.
Pupils will have 60 minutes to answer the 56 Main Test questions.
They can choose to start with the English questions or with the Maths questions.
Each of the multiple choice questions has 5 possible answers.
Admissions Criteria for Belfast High School
Most Northern Ireland Grammar Schools are now using the SEAG Entrance Assessment instead of Transfer Test AQE or PPTC/GL Assessment. As part of their admissions criteria each school uses slightly different criteria versions for admissions. The vast majority of schools will have SEAG Band one as 1st criteria which means you need to score 206+ in the SEAG Entrance Assessment Test. If you don’t get band one then you will not be guaranteed a grammar school place in any school in Northern Ireland.
After criteria one, criteria two can vary depending on Grammar School. The majority of Grammar Schools 2nd criteria will be if a family member currently or in some cases has attended the school, other schools will go straight to SEAG TSAS scores. The main key point to note is that you need to aim for band one which is 206 in SEAG Entrance Assessment for the vast majority of Grammar Schools in Northern Ireland. Another key point is school preference, most schools don’t stipulate they have to be number one preference on the SEAG Application form to be considered for a place at their school. So, if you put down a Grammar School as 1st preference and don’t get the grade to get in, as long as your 2nd choice school doesn’t stipulate their school has to be 1st preference then it’s the same as putting the 2nd school down 1st on the SEAG application form.
Our advice is to read the Grammar School criteria carefully and know what your child needs to achieve to gain entry as a lot of parents get confused over the criteria. We keep an up-to-date database of past Transfer Test and SEAG scores you need to gain entry to all Grammar Schools in Northern Ireland.
Our SEAG products at bottom of the page are proven resources to give you child the best chance of getting a high score in SEAG, our Practice Test Papers with video explanations are a great starting point for the SEAG Exam. Our online and live tutor bootcamps are a great alternative to an expensive tutor and our mock exams are a great way to find out what level your child is currently at compared to other children who have taken our mock exams in the same area. Our mock exams will be pitched at examination level difficulty so you have an exact understanding of the level your child needs to aim for. Below is the criteria for this Grammar School. If you have any questions please contact us:
The Board of Governors has approved the admissions criteria outlined below and delegates to the Admissions Sub Committee the responsibility for applying these criteria. The Admissions Sub-Committee consists of 3 Governors, the Principal, a Vice Principal and the Admissions Officer. Belfast High School will not use as a criterion the position of preference given to the School on the online transfer application for example, a child who has chosen Belfast High school as a second preference school will be considered in the same way as all first preference applicants.
ADMISSIONS CRITERIA FOR ENTRY INTO YEAR 8
If the School is over-subscribed, the following criteria for entry will apply, in the order stated:
1. The Board of Governors will consider all children resident in Northern Ireland at the time of their proposed admission to the School before any child not so resident.
2. The Board of Governors will then consider children who have taken the SEAG Common Entrance Assessment and been awarded a Total Standardised Age Score (TSAS) by SEAG, subject only to the consideration of those children claiming ‘Special Circumstances and/or ‘Special Provisions’, as defined below. Children will be placed in strict rank order of scores, highest to lowest, up to the approved admissions number. Parents/Guardians must enter the Total Standardised Age Score awarded by SEAG and the SEAG Unique Pupil Number on the online transfer application.
3. If more than one child is eligible for the last remaining place(s) because they have equal scores, then the final place(s) will be allocated using the following criteria in the orderstated:
3.1 Children who have a sibling (‘child of the family’ as defined above) enrolled at the School at the time of application.
3.2 The use of a tie-breaker which shall be on the basis of computerised random selection. This process, as agreed by the Board of Governors and overseen by a minimum of 3 members of the Admissions SubCommittee, will be as follows:
• Applicants will be listed by their EA Application Number.
• This application number will be allocated a random number electronically generated within Microsoft Excel using the Rand function.
• These random numbers will then be ranked in order with higher numbers having preference
4. If there are still places available after consideration of all the children who have taken the SEAG Common Entrance Assessment and been awarded a Total Standardised Age Score by SEAG, or awarded a score as a result of Special Circumstances or Special Provisions, the School will consider for admission any children who have not taken the SEAG Common Entrance Assessment. These children will be allocated to any remaining places, up to the School’s admissions number, using criterion 1 followed by criterion 3 above.
Special Circumstances and Special Provisions
The purpose of a claim for Special Circumstances and/or Special Provisions is so that a child can be assigned a score equivalent to that which he or she would have obtained in the SEAG Common Entrance Assessment. under normal conditions. Consideration of a claimforspecial circumstances and/orspecialprovisions consistsoftwo parts:the first requiresthe consideration of whether there is sufficient material to permit a child to be considered as having special circumstances or attracting special provisions, or both; if a child is permitted to be considered as having special circumstances or as attracting special provisions or both, the second part of the consideration requires an educational judgement to be made on the totality of the material presented to the schoolso that a score equivalent to that which the child would have obtained in the SEAG Common Entrance Assessment under normal conditions can beawarded.
It is for parents/guardians to present all such material as they consider will assist the School in performing both parts of the consideration described above. All such material should be uploaded with the online transfer application. It should be noted by parents/guardians that both parts of the consideration referred to involve an exercise in educational judgement and not precise calculation.
Educational Evidence to be provided in support of a claim for Special Circumstances and/or Special Provisions In reaching the educational judgement needed to award the score that the child would have obtained in the SEAG Common Entrance Assessment under normal circumstances, the School’s Admissions Sub-Committee will consider any material presented by parents/guardians and uploaded with the online transfer application. This material may include any or all of the following:
(i) The Total Standardised Age Score achieved in the SEAG Common Entrance Assessment or the estimated outcome provided by SEAG if the child only sat one of the 2 Common Entrance Assessment papers;
(ii) The results for the child of any standardised tests conducted in Year 5, Year 6 and Year 7 and the results in any end of year tests, conducted in Years 5 and 6, in English and Mathematics;
(iii) Comparative information from the Primary School, including the results, without names, for other children in the child’s Year 7 class of any standardised tests conducted in Year 5, Year 6 and Year 7 and the results in any end of year tests, conducted in Years 5 and 6, in English and Mathematics and where available, the respective Total Standardised Age Score awarded by SEAG;
(iv) Any other relevant material.
Special Circumstances – Belfast High School has academic performance as its main criterion, subject only to the consideration of medical or other problems which may have affected performance in the SEAG Common Entrance Assessment and which are supported by documentary evidence of a medical or other appropriate nature. These ‘medical or other problems’ are commonly referred to as ‘Special Circumstances’. Please note – if a claim for the consideration of Special Circumstances is made in respect of matters for which Special Access arrangements were granted for a child, the School will take into account the fact that the child was granted Special Access arrangements for those matters. Parents/Guardians who wish to apply to the School under Special Circumstances should complete the SC Form obtainable from the School website, stating the precise reason why they believe their child should be considered for Special Circumstances and upload it with appropriate evidence with the online transfer application. This must include contemporaneous medical, professional or other assessments of your child and supporting educational evidence to support the claim that the Total Standardised Age Score does not correspond to the academic ability of your child because he/she experienced medical or other problems before or during the time of the Common Entrance Assessment.
Please note: sibling is defined as another ‘child of the family’. This includes: a child born to a married couple or a couple in a civil partnership; a child born to a co-habiting couple; a child born to a single parent; a child of either/any of those people by a previous marriage, civil partnership or relationship; a child living with a couple who has been treated as a ‘child of the family’ whether it is a marriage or a civil partnership or not; a child living with an individual who has been treated as a ‘child of the family’; an adopted or fostered child; a situation where for example an orphaned cousin is being brought up with a family or individual.
Belfast High School website for a more detailed Admissions Policy document – the https://www.belfasthigh.org.uk
