New grammar school entrance tests are educationally unsound, fundamentally unfair and completely contrary to the ethos in Catholic schools, it has been claimed.

Thirty-eight Catholic primary school principals in Dungannon, Cookstown and Armagh have issued a strong joint statement following a meeting last Thursday in Donaghmore.

It says: “In September 2010 Primary 7 children in our schools will transfer to secondary education.

“This past year has been traumatic for these children, their parents and schools in seeking to understand the way ahead and in making sound, informed and responsible decisions that will greatly affect our children’s futures.

“Eight weeks from now many of our children will be part of a testing process that Catholic grammar schools have continued to insist that they will operate as the main element of their admissions procedure next year.

“In April past we, as principals of Catholic primary schools, voiced our concerns and opposition to this process.

“These tests will be unfair to our 10 and 11-year-old children — they will take place in an alien environment.

“They will take place on a Saturday. The format and structure of these tests are alien to our children; these tests are not based on the primary curriculum of our schools.

“GL Assessment, the private company responsible for setting and marking these tests, has no experience of running tests to be used for selection in Northern Ireland,” it added.

“We wish to state again very clearly our belief that these testing arrangements are educationally unsound, fundamentally unfair and completely contrary to the Catholic ethos of our schools.”

The statement also warns that Catholic grammars setting tests “must take complete responsibility for that process and for any liabilities which may arise from it.”

Families and teachers have spoken out in recent weeks about the stress and confusion which the new system is causing.

A total of 68 schools across the province — mainly grammars — are defying the Education Minister’s advice by setting their own entrance exams.

The minister had called on all schools to use non-academic criteria. Some young people will sit up to five exam papers this autumn.

Tony Devlin, principal of Holy Trinity Primary in Cookstown, said: “We would urge the Catholic grammar schools to sit down with the Commission for Catholic Education to work together on the transition to a non-selective system.”

The Post Primary Transfer Consortium represents the 34 schools, mainly within the Catholic sector, setting tests through GL Assessment.

In its information pack it states that GL Assessment “enjoys an established, trusted reputation for high-quality assessment resources and services”. It also says that the tests will be based on the current school curriculum.