Child refused a place in Laois school following late application due to sister's death

A child in Portlaoise is without a secondary school to attend this summer after missing the application deadline for the school of his choice due to his sister's death.

13-year-old Lee Moore was planning on attending St Mary's CBS in Portlaoise this year, but there is a strict policy at the school where they don't accept late applications under any circumstances. Lee's application was late as his sister passed away after a battle with cancer around the time of the deadline according to the independent.ie.

He will now not be able to attend the school that the rest of his friends from national school are going to, which means he could face the possibility of being home schooled.

“He lost his sister, he lost his friends and he’s totally on his own. He’s lost and all of his friends are at school,” outline his mother Ann Marie.

“The school have had absolutely no sympathy. You’d imagine they would be lenient seeing as he lost his sister,” she said.

He will be thought for nine hours a week by a home school teacher if that is the route they have to go down, and that would be funded by the government, who would pay the teacher €40 an hour.

“He will be home-schooled if he doesn’t get a place but he’s already two weeks behind and the home-schooling won’t be sorted for another four weeks," continued Ann-Marie.

The school principal has since promised to contact the mother as soon as a place because available.