Children in Church primary schools which do not have a secondary school will, from the next scholastic year, be given automatic entrance to other church secondary schools, Curia officials announced today.

The children of employees in church schools will also be granted automatic entry.

Changes to the Church Schools admissions system were announced this morning by Fr Charles Mallia at a press conference.

He said the main purpose of the reform was decentralisation and transparency.

He explained that automatic entry would be granted to children from Church homes, siblings who have brothers or sisters already in the same church schools, humanitarian cases, children in all Church primary schools (for progression to secondary schools, and children of employees in Church schools.

Children of single or separated parents, fostered or adopted children would not be automatically considered as humanitarian cases.

Fr Mallia said that as from the next scholastic year parents would no longer have to go to the Curia to apply for their children to be admitted to Church primary schools. Applications would be received in the various schools. The Curia would only receive applications in humanitarian cases.

In submitting their application in January - parents would not at that stage indicate their school preference.

Two ballots would be held for admission to kinder, primary and secondary schools. (The common entrance exam for secondary schools has been abolished).

The first would include all those eligible to enter the schools, excluding those who would have been granted automatic admission.

The second would feature those who were drawn in the first ballot and those granted automatic admission (including students from Church primary schools which do not have secondary schools). On the basis of the order of the draw, the parents of such children would state their school preference. Applicants for Form I of secondary school would have to submit the results of Year Six exams, irrespective of their result.

In order to improve transparency, the names of the children drawn for admission would be uploaded online.

Fr Cilia said that a total of 1,866 places were available in Church primary and secondary schools. He said these included new primary schools at St Augustine College, the Seminary and St Paul's Missionary College. In these schools, children will be taken in in Years One and Four. There will be a ballot for year four admissions.

The new rules will be published in full on maltadiocese.org tomorrow.