At the launch of the COIN careers portal in the Southern Regional College this morning Caitriona Ruane was in typically belligerent form. Her speech, crafted from a string of sound bites, gave notice to her opponents that "this is the last 11+ regardless of who is minister".

There would be "no more talking in silos". "The flip side of academic excellence is underachievement". "I am not going to preside over academic apartheid". Talk of not enough time was dismissed as another "route of attack".

NIACT members have a range of views on selection but we are anxious that the issue is not politicised and that the interests of those involved in education, pupils and teachers alike, are taken into account.

There is genuine concern in the sector that we are looking into a unregulated void. Caitriona Ruane says she will manage it but there is no clear indication of how.

There is also genuine concern that the sector is facing change built on change. The reality is that a post-selection future will require culture change in both grammar and secondary schools. Caitriona Ruane is placing the blame for underachievement (and particularly underachievement in Maths and English) on selection. Presumably she means "failure" at 11+ is a demotivator; presumably she doesn't mean that secondary schools are not as good at teaching as grammar schools. There is a lot of good work going on in our secondary schools, work which grammar school teachers are likely to find daunting if not impossible. Similarly, academically bright pupils may be good at exams but give them a practical task to do and you may have a challenge on your hands.

One size doesn't fit all. Children have different learning styles and different abilities. Judging by the few mixed ability schools currently in existence the future may not be selection but it is highly likely to be streaming.

See also: http://www.niact.org.uk/content/view/49/41/