Your school guide
Lagan College (Belfast)
Lagan College offers grammar and all-ability Year 8 routes. SEAG applies to the grammar pathway, not every applicant.
Grammar or selective school · Belfast
Prepare with confidence.
Preparing for entry to Lagan College (Belfast)? Use Plusling to build confidence in core English, maths and reasoning skills, with short quizzes and explanations that make the next step clearer.
Try five free questions. See the feedback for yourself.
Meet the school
At a glance
Facts checked
Plan your approach
Entry information
For September 2027 entry
Lagan College has grammar and all-ability Year 8 entry routes. For the grammar route, registered applicants sit the SEAG English and mathematics papers on 14 and 21 November 2026; the final registration window closed on 20 October. All-ability entry can consider children who have not sat SEAG. Check the 2027/28 school criteria and use the Education Authority transfer process for your application.
Entry stage: Year 8
The admissions process
- Choose the relevant admissions route with the school: Lagan uses higher/grammar and all-ability criteria. SEAG is relevant to grammar selection; the published all-ability route considers applicants whether or not they have sat SEAG.
- SEAG regular registration ran from 18 May to 18 September 2026. A separate emergency registration window for previously unregistered pupils ran on 19–20 October 2026 and is now closed.
- Registered pupils sit SEAG Paper 1 on 14 November and Paper 2 on 21 November 2026. Both include English and mathematics. Results are due on 23 January 2027.
- Read the current Lagan College Year 8 criteria and Education Authority transfer guidance before submitting school preferences. Ask the school how its criteria apply to your child.
Read the official details: Admissions information from Education Authority Northern Ireland
Go to the source
Official links for your shortlist
Use the school’s current admissions information to check which sample papers or familiarisation materials apply to your child’s entry year.
Know what to expect
Follow the school’s assessment guidance.
For Lagan’s grammar-entry route, SEAG publishes official practice papers, answer sheets and a parent guide to familiarise children with the two-paper format. Lagan also has an all-ability route that can consider applicants without a SEAG assessment.
Read the official guidance: Schools’ Entrance Assessment Group · Schools’ Entrance Assessment Group · Lagan College (Belfast)
English
A useful place to start
Read a short passage together. Ask your child to find evidence for an answer and explain unfamiliar words in context.
Build on it with Plusling
Build on that reading with Plusling’s English questions and explanations, then choose a topic to practise again.
Start the 5-question English quizMaths
A useful place to start
Ask your child to explain their method, estimate the answer and check the final calculation. Notice which step needs more practice.
Build on it with Plusling
Use Plusling’s original maths questions and worked explanations to make those next practice sessions count.
Start the 5-question maths quizPrint, practise, build confidence
Printable practice for these subjects
Original Plusling papers with space to work and separate answers and explanations.
English papers
Explore the papers
Maths papers
Explore the papersThese are Plusling skills practice, not official school or test papers.
Keep the practical steps clear
Your application starting points
Use the official links on this page to answer these questions for your child’s entry year.
Check the entry point and eligibility
Confirm the year group, age requirements and any conditions that apply to your child.
Put the right dates in your diary
Note any published registration, assessment, application and offer-response dates that apply to your child’s route. They may be separate steps.
Follow the assessment guidance
Check what the school asks your child to do and whether it recommends any preparation. Use its own instructions and the assessment provider’s advice.
Read the school’s admissions criteria
Check catchment, oversubscription rules and any supplementary form alongside the test registration.
Picture your child’s everyday life here.
An open day is a chance to look beyond the exam. Useful questions to take with you:
- How do you help new pupils settle in and make friends?
- Who can a child turn to when they feel worried or stuck?
- How do you help pupils recover from a setback and discover their strengths?
Know where to focus
Give their preparation a clear direction.
See the topics your child has practised, revisit questions that need another look and choose a focus for the next session. Plusling helps you put your time where it can be useful.
- Topic summaries and practice history
- Choose topics in Focus Practice
- Progress to discuss with the adults helping them
Their next step starts here
Give their 11+ preparation a confident start.
Try Plusling together. Five free questions, useful feedback and a first look at a friendlier way to practise.
Before you apply
- Ask Lagan College and the Education Authority for the 2027/28 Year 8 criteria and transfer application steps.
- Ask how the grammar and all-ability criteria apply to your child; lack of a SEAG result does not by itself rule out an application through the all-ability route.
Plusling’s guide to Lagan College (Belfast) is independently written. The school and its admissions authority publish the official arrangements.
Contains government school-register data licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Primary sources
- Lagan College, Belfast: school details Education Authority Northern Ireland
- Year 8 Admissions | Lagan College Lagan College (Belfast)
- P6 Information Evening, May 2026 Lagan College
- SEAG official practice papers and answers Schools’ Entrance Assessment Group
- 2026 SEAG emergency registration window SEAG
- SEAG | Assessment Guide Schools’ Entrance Assessment Group