CHILDREN in P7 will have to wait an extra five days before they learn which secondary school they will attend in September.
The Education Authority (EA) said the notification of post-primary placement was moving from Saturday May 30 to Thursday June 4.
Letters typically are sent out on the last Saturday in May each year but there had been fears of a lengthy delay this time due to schools being closed.
The EA said the delay was "due to the continued impact of Covid-19 on the delivery of key services".
It added that letters to parents/guardians would be issued by EA on behalf of post-primary schools "to advise on the outcome of their child’s post primary application".
No letters will not come from schools themselves.
There are about 24,000 children in P7 waiting to transfer to either grammar or non-grammar settings.
In the last three years, the number transferring has increased by more than 10 per cent.
This means hundreds have been left temporarily unplaced due to popular schools being oversubscribed.
Schools have been awarded hundreds of extra places for the next two years to cope with this surge in demand.
