The parents of an 11-plus pupil have won the first round in a legal fight against his rejection by Rathmore Grammar School in south Belfast.
The boy is from a mixed marriage and is being brought up as a Catholic.
Mr Justice Kerr granted leave to take the case to judicial review after hearing that the family believed the boy had been the victim of post-exam religious discrimination through extra admissions criteria laid down by the school, beyond solely 11-plus results.
The judge did not accept a claim that, once passed to an appeals tribunal, the case was out of the school's hands.
He said he hoped to hold a full hearing in a fortnight.
