PARENTS will have to wait to find out whether their children will get into their first choice of school.
The delay has been blamed on problems with a new computer system.
All parents of new primary one pupils should have found out which school their children will be going to by Thursday, but they now face another anxious wait for the decision.
Ed
ucation bosses say the new computer system is to blame for the setback, but parents are angry that this tense time is being made even worse by the delay.
Gavin Corbett, chairman of Craiglockhart Primary's parent council, has a son Charlie who starts school after the summer and is furious this has happened.
He said: "Starting school is one of life's great transitions and already a source of uncertainty for parents. Lots of plans revolve around which school your children are going to.
"The enrolment process starts back in November so it is already a big enough gap until the confirmation letters go out in April. If this is to be further delayed it is simply unacceptable."
The council's education department says all parents will find out where their children will be going to school by the middle of May and the 28-day appeals process will begin after that date.
City education leader Marilyne MacLaren said: "This year, as we move onto a new system, we have experienced a delay and staff are working hard to catch up.
"We know that this is an anxious time for parents and we want to reassure them that our team will be in touch by mid-May about their child's placement."
Falling school rolls and larger capacities also make it easier to allocate S1 places.
So far, a total of 113 placing requests have been refused in city high schools – down from 126 at this time last year – at Boroughmuir, Craigmount, James Gillespie's, St Thomas of Aquin's and The Royal High.
The council expects these figures will change dramatically by the time the August term starts.
Last year, out of the 126 who were refused places at their first choice secondary school originally, only 37 were still unable to get a place by August.
In primary schools, out of the 491 pupils who were originally refused places, 209 were still unable to get their first choice of school in August.
Councillor Ricky Henderson, Labour's education spokesman, said:
"It must be difficult for parents and families when they're trying to plan for the future, and I can well understand the anxiety that they feel."
