Coronavirus: Delay to pupils finding out their new schools

Most grammar schools have been using unofficial tests to select pupils since 2008

There will be a delay before children find out which post-primary school they will transfer to in 2020.

It is because the Saturday post - except parcels - has been temporarily scrapped by Royal Mail due the coronavirus pandemic.

Primary Seven children were due to find out by letter on Saturday 30 May which post-primary school they would attend.

However, they will not now be told where they have got a school place until Thursday 4 June.

The new arrangements have been put in place by the Education Authority (EA).

"Letters to parents/guardians will be issued by EA on behalf of post-primary schools to advise on the outcome of their child's post primary application," a spokesperson said.

"For help and advice, parents/guardians can contact our admissions helpdesk via email: [e-mail]."

There is expected to be increased demand for places in a number of post-primary schools this year.

The Department of Education has given extra places to some so they can admit more pupils.

In recent years, there has been a rise in the number of children who have struggled to get a post-primary place when the initial stage of the process is completed in June.

Meanwhile, Northern Ireland's Children's Commissioner has said it is "not fair" to expect children to sit the transfer tests in 2020.

The two organisations, which run the tests, have said they will be held at least two weeks later than usual.

NI Children's Commissioner Koulla Yiasouma

Koulla Yiasouma said that she had long been opposed to the tests but said the pressures on children sitting them this year would be even greater.

"The logic that this should allow pupils extra time in school to prepare for the exams is not based on any sound knowledge that children will be back at school, on a full-time basis by that time," she said.

"Regardless, we cannot think that it's ok to make children who are 10 and 11 years old sit tests during a health pandemic when we have, rightly so, protected our GCSE and A-level students.

"I call on the same logic of predicted grades to be applied for our children due to sit the transfer test."

The chairman of Stormont's education committee, Alliance MLA Chris Lyttle, also said a two-week postponement of the tests would not make up for several months of missed learning in classrooms.

"An already uneven playing field has been made even more unfair thanks to this pandemic, with pupils having different capacity to learn and prepare in terms of internet and computer resources, online tutoring access and parent or guardian availability," he said.

"This is surely the time to find a different way to transfer pupils from primary to post-primary, so we can leave the unfair and unnecessary transfer tests in the past where they belong."