'They just want to see their friends' — thousands of students set to return to school

Younger classes, from junior infants to second-class, will return to their schools today, as will final year Leaving Cert students. Picture: Larry Cummins

Almost one year ago, at the beginning of the pandemic, schools and colleges were shut for the first time while non-essential shops and businesses remained open. 

Today, after almost two months of further closures, the next phase of reopening schools gets underway while the rest of society remains locked down.

Younger classes, from junior infants to second-class, will return to their schools today, as will final year Leaving Cert students. 

For sixth-years, it will be their first time back in classrooms after receiving the news they will have a say in the format of their Leaving Cert.

“They’ve had a very difficult year, and they would have had a difficult end to last year," said Jim O'Sullivan, principal of Nagle Community College, in Mahon, Cork. 

"In many respects, the amount of time that they've been physically in the school really has been quite limited.” All Leaving Cert students at Nagle left at Christmas with laptops thanks to a range of corporate support, local sponsorships and the Trinity Access Plus Programme.

That meant their access to remote learning was going to be easier, Mr O’Sullivan explained.

“But we are dealing with a student body who have been through a lot. Nationwide, they’ve been through a lot," he said.

“I think it's important now that we get access to them face-to-face and put all the supports in play between here and June. We need to be able to rally around them and support them on this leg of the journey towards further and higher education.”

Official guidance around how 'assessed grades' will operate and on changes to the written exams have brought some clarity to teaching staff, he said. 

Anne Hartnett is the principal of St Paul’s Special School. The school in Montenotte, Cork has 95 students who have moderate, severe, and profound general learning disabilities. From today, students will resume full-time attendance, after attending on alternate schedules since February 11. Special classes in mainstream schools reopened on February 22. 

“I’m just so glad that we are back," she said. “Once our students are safe and happy; Objective achieved. 

“Being with their friends and their class means the world to them. They have blown us out of the water with their work on Zoom, but now again, it doesn't suit everyone.” 

Special schools make up less than 2% of the school-population. “Because of that, unfortunately, our needs are not always top priority. It’s just ironic that we’ve been all across the media because we’re the ones brought back first, which is welcome and understandable.” 

“But I just hope they remember us because our pupil-teacher ratio has been the same since 1993,” she added.

Meanwhile, the Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) has warned that vigilance will be required by all to ensure that the phased return to school students is safe and sustainable.

"As the phased return to schools continues, there is understandable anxiety among all in school communities, particularly given concerns around new strains of the virus," said Michael Gillespie, TUI general secretary.

"At a national level, the situation must be kept under constant and forensic review, while adherence to the measures that protect the health and safety of students, staff and their families must be the key priority in every school."