P4-P7 & Y12-14 students return to the classroom
They have been learning remotely since Christmas
Primaries Four to Seven, and secondary exam years 12 to 14 return to the classroom today. (Monday)
Only the children of key-workers in these year groups had been attending school during Northern Ireland’s latest lockdown, from December 26.
They will join Primaries one, two and three at school, the youngest pupils returned a fortnight ago on March 8.
Many schools have criticised the Executive for giving teachers and parents just six days notice after First Minister Arlene Foster confirmed the news to the Stormont Assembly last Tuesday.
Portrush Primary School’s Principal, Carwyn Guy, told Downtown Cool FM he can’t wait to welcome back more pupils.
“It’s something we’ve been looking forward, to, we’ve been speaking to a number of older brothers and sisters when they’ve been dropping off younger brothers and sisters, and they can’t wait to get back into school!
“All the feedback we’ve had through our social media, and parents contacting the school, is that the kids can’t wait to get back in with us.”
He paid tribute to the hard work of his staff in difficult circumstances.
“Credit to the teaching staff, they have been very adaptable throughout. They’ve moved to remote learning at the drop of a hat, picked it up and ran with it from the start.
“To be honest, they’ve all been itching to get back into the classroom so to get the green light to come back in is a much easier shift than moving the other way.
“We have been ready, we have all our precautions in place from November and December, and we’ll be able to run with those again,” he said.
All other students are due to resume face-to-face teaching on April 12, after the Easter break.
Are you glad remote learning is over? Or do you think this is too soon? You can contact our journalists on newsroom@downtown.co.uk to have your say.