SEAG admissions guide / All 63 schools / St Joseph's Grammar School

St Joseph's Grammar School: SEAG score and admissions criteria

Donaghmore · Catholic co-educational grammar · September 2026 entry

This page shows exactly how St Joseph's Grammar School used SEAG results to allocate Year 8 places,
taken from the school’s own published admissions criteria. It is one of the
63 school evidence cards in our SEAG admissions guide.

Allocation pattern

Band priority

SEAG scores are grouped into bands. Every child in Band 1 is considered before any child in Band 2, and so on. Within an oversubscribed band, published tie-break criteria — not the score — decide who gets a place.

How places were allocated for September 2026

  1. 120 places, split into two streams: 70 in the main (English-medium) school and 50 in the Irish Medium Stream. If one stream is undersubscribed, its spare places pass to the other.
  2. Within each stream, pupils are admitted by SEAG Band — all Band 1 before any Band 2, and so on through Band 6.
  3. Within an oversubscribed Band the criteria apply in order: St Joseph’s named as first preference → a sibling enrolled, or the eldest child of the family → then further criteria and a tie-break.
The school runs two streams — an English-medium school (70 places) and an Irish Medium Stream (50). Each is filled by SEAG Band, so a Band 1 applicant is placed ahead of a Band 2 applicant within the stream. Spare places in one stream pass to the other.

Recent admissions history

Entry year Places Applications (all prefs) Admitted
2023/24 70 177 138*
2024/25 70 157 138*
2025/26 70 100 129*

*The table’s admissions number (70) is the main-school stream; total admissions include the Irish Medium Stream, appeals and SEN places. For September 2026 the combined admissions number is 120 (70 main school + 50 Irish Medium Stream), as stated by the school.

Worth asking at the open day

How are the 70 and 50 stream places handled if one is undersubscribed? · Which Band did the last admitted pupil come from?

Source — School-published · September 2026 entry · Verified 9 July 2026

Admissions Criteria 2026-2027 (PDF) →  ·  School website →

These figures describe past cycles. Always read the school’s current published
criteria in full before listing it — criteria can change year to year.

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