ROCESTER 6 Sep (ANA) - One of the first schools to reopen following the Covid-19 pandemic was forced to close after a pupil tested positive for the virus.

The JCB Academy in Rocester, which welcomed students back in August, asked children to stay at home on Friday.

 Around 100 pupils have also been asked to self-isolate for the next two weeks after coming into contact with the infected student.

 Principal Jenny McGuirk said the school had ‘taken advice from Public Health England and the Staffordshire Covid-19 Response Team to mitigate the risk from this confirmed isolated case’ and closed ‘as a precaution’.

She added: ‘Through track and trace, academy staff have worked throughout the day to contact the families of students believed to have been in contact with the individual who has tested positive.

 ‘As a result, around 100 students have now been asked to self-isolate for the next 14 days. ‘We have taken swift and decisive action to mitigate any risks and the measures we have taken go above and beyond the advice given to us from Public Health England.’ 

Those who are self-isolating will be able to access learning online, she said. The JCB Academy was the first school of its kind in the UK for the education of 13 to 19-year-olds with a core focus on engineering.

It had implemented a range of measures before reopening to safeguard pupils, including hand sanitisers outside every classroom, segregated lunch breaks, and the compulsory wearing of masks while moving between rooms. Elsewhere, the majority of headteachers reported a high attendance – more than 80% – among the pupils in England returning to the classroom last week. Schools in England have begun welcoming back students in all year groups for the start of the autumn term, with the remainder due to open next week. Early indications from a poll, by the school leaders union’ NAHT, suggest around nine in ten (92%) schools have had more than 80% of pupils attend. The survey, of more 840 school leaders on Friday, found more than four in five (82%) schools have had more than 90% of children turn up to school.(ANA)

FA/ANA/6 September 2020----