Killicomaine Junior High School

Killicomaine Junior High School is a controlled school in Portadown, Northern Ireland.It accepts male and female pupils following primary education. Children attend for three years and generally transfer to either Portadown College or Craigavon Senior High School. The Headmaster is Hugh McCarthy. The school plays rugby, football, hockey along with others. It was founded in 1958.It follows Craigavon two-tier system, commonly called the Dickson Plan, which was established 28 years ago because many people recognised that making crucial decisions about a child's future at 10 was inappropriate.The central features of the system are: selection occurs at 14, an age when both child and parent are more fully aware of the child's aptitudes and abilities; selection takes place based on continuous assessment including summative examinations on the entire range of curricular subjects.The existence of statutory assessment at 14 (Key Stage 3) and much government discussion regarding a coherent 14-19 curriculum serve to emphasise the educational importance given to assessment and selection at 14+.Though non-denominational, the school has a Protestant ethos, with local Protestant clergy going to the school every Friday for assembly and to take religious classes.