The Education Minister was speaking at an event in the Hilton Hotel in Templepatrick.

She said: "My vision is of areas served by institutions of varying kinds of specialisms, working together and collaborating to offer the full Entitlement Framework to young people on an equal basis, and mutually maintaining and raising standards.

"I have listened and tried to find a way forward, but would be the first to admit that I have not brought everyone with me. Nevertheless, my proposals command significant support."

The Minister said she has accepted the need for transition.

"I can envisage that post-primary transfer in these intervening years, Transfers 2010, 2011 and 2012, may include some particular provision to allow bilateral admissions in some limited cases, on a declining basis.

"Bilateralism, if only as a transitional arrangement, requires an assessment mechanism to continue to be part of transfer. I will work to ensure this is an assessment that will not disrupt the delivery of the primary curriculum. It will not be sat in primary schools.

"This has been a difficult move for me to make as I maintain entirely my opposition to assessment-based transfer at 11. However, I have in sight a system which has moved beyond academic selection and I am prepared to work with colleagues to realise that vision."

Ms Ruane said that a number of different approaches to academic selection had been tried.

"We have had verbal reasoning and got rid of it; we have had the references of primary schools and found it unworkable; we have had the transfer test. It is difficult to see what kind of selection system could replace the transfer test. Given this, I firmly believe we are past the point of no return and academic selection will be seen as a historical anomaly in our education system," she said.