About the school
St Killian’s College is a Catholic co-educational all-ability secondary school in the Glens of Antrim, near Carnlough, Northern Ireland, educating pupils aged 11 to 18. Set on the historic Garron Tower estate overlooking the Antrim Coast Road and the North Channel, it is regularly listed among the top-performing schools in Northern Ireland.
The college occupies Garron Tower, a mid-nineteenth-century castellated mansion built as a summer residence for Frances Anne Vane, Marchioness of Londonderry. The site became St MacNissi’s College, a grammar school for boys, in 1951, and the current college was formed in 2010 through the amalgamation of St MacNissi’s with neighbouring schools. Its motto is "Caritas et Veritas," meaning "Love and Truth."
Unlike the grammar schools in Northern Ireland, St Killian’s College is an all-ability school and does not use an academic transfer test for entry. Families across the region nonetheless prepare for the SEAG transfer test where they are considering selective grammar schools.
School type
Catholic All-Ability College (Co-Ed)
Exam date
All-Ability Entry (No Transfer Test)
Exam board
Non-Selective (SEAG used by NI grammars)
Address
25 Tower Road, Carnlough, Ballymena, Co. Antrim, BT44 0JS
Age range
11–18 (Years 8–14)
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Admissions information
St Killian’s College is an all-ability college rather than a selective grammar school. Here is everything you need to know about the St Killian’s College admissions criteria and how academic selection works in Northern Ireland.
St Killian’s College is a co-educational all-ability Catholic secondary school, formed in 2010 from the amalgamation of the former St MacNissi’s grammar school with neighbouring schools. As an all-ability college, it admits pupils across the full range of abilities and does not require an academic transfer test such as the SEAG assessment for entry into Year 8.
Each of the two papers lasts 60 minutes and contains a mix of multiple-choice and free-response questions, with answers recorded on a separate answer sheet. The papers are taken on two Saturdays a week apart, and a pupil’s marks across both papers are combined into a Total Standardised Age Score (TSAS), which is age-standardised so that younger children are not disadvantaged.
Because St Killian’s College is non-selective, families apply through the Education Authority Transfer Application without needing a transfer test result. For grammar schools that select at age 11, registration for the SEAG transfer test runs through the SEAG website, typically opening in May 2026 and closing in September 2026, ahead of the assessment.
For St Killian’s College, places are allocated under its published all-ability admissions criteria rather than by SEAG score. Families considering selective grammar schools elsewhere receive SEAG results in late January, ahead of confirming their post-primary preferences through the Education Authority.
Key admissions details
St Killian’s College admits pupils into Year 8 each year as an all-ability college, drawing on the Glens of Antrim and East Antrim area, without using an academic transfer test.
St Killian’s College does not operate a single fixed catchment area but serves the Glens of Antrim and East Antrim area, from Larne to Cushendun and inland towards Ballymena. Places are allocated under the school’s published all-ability admissions criteria.
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St Killian’s College is located at 25 Tower Road, Carnlough, Ballymena, Co. Antrim, BT44 0JS, on the historic Garron Tower estate overlooking the Antrim Coast Road. It is a Catholic co-educational all-ability secondary school serving pupils aged 11 to 18.
St Killian’s College was formed in 2010 through the amalgamation of St MacNissi’s College, a grammar school founded at Garron Tower in 1951, with neighbouring schools. Its motto is "Caritas et Veritas," meaning "Love and Truth."
St Killian’s College is an all-ability college and does not use an academic transfer test for entry. This differs from the grammar schools in Northern Ireland, which use the SEAG transfer test provided by GL Assessment for selective Year 8 entry.
St Killian’s College serves the Glens of Antrim and East Antrim area, from Larne to Cushendun and inland towards Ballymena, and does not operate a single fixed catchment area. Places are allocated under its published all-ability admissions criteria.
St Killian’s College itself does not require a transfer test. For grammar schools that select at age 11, registration for the SEAG transfer test runs through the SEAG website, typically opening in May 2026 and closing in September 2026.
St Killian’s College is now an all-ability college rather than a selective grammar school. It was formed from the former St MacNissi’s grammar school in 2010 and admits pupils across the full range of abilities without an academic transfer test.
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