Easter holidays may be cut as schools close until Thursday

MORE than 100,000 Leaving and Junior Certificate students could have their Easter holidays shortened to make up for the five days lost by hundreds of second level schools by next Thursday.

The country’s 4,000 primary and second levels were ordered last night to close on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday next, on health and safety grounds.

But around half of them have already been forced to close for the last two days – when they should have reopened after Christmas holidays – by the freezing weather.