Nerves and nonchalance aplenty for secondary school students' first day back

First year students who started secondary school wearing masks and keeping their social distance as they gathered outside on arrival at Coláiste Éamann Rís in Cork. Picture: Denis Minihane.

The school gates at Coláiste Éamann Rís in Cork city on Friday morning were a mix of nerves, excitement, and nonchalance, as the school welcomed 120 new students for the first time. 

In previous years, the transition to secondary from sixth class in itself is an important rite-of-passage. However, as thousands of children begin at schools around the country, they are entering a transformed environment, far from any they would have imagined a year ago.