Hundreds of teenage students were ordered to self-isolate for two weeks after one student tested positive for coronavirus…
JCB’s Staffordshire Academy, which was one of the first schools in England to reopen in August following the Covid-19 pandemic, was closed on Friday.
Students who are supposed to have interacted with the student were urged to stay at home for two weeks.
The Rochester school will open Monday for the remaining 700 students.
(Image: PA)
Principal Jenny McGuirk said the school was closed on Friday “as a precautionary measure” after a single incident.
She added: “The Academy has taken advice from Public Health England and the Staffordshire Covid-19 Response Group to reduce the risk of this confirmed isolated case.
“Through tracking and tracing, academy staff worked throughout the day to reach families of students believed to have been in contact with the person who tested positive.
(Image: REUTERS)
“As a result, about a hundred 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 actions we have taken go beyond the advice given to us by Public Health England.”
Those who self-isolate will be able to access online learning, according to the headmaster.
JCB Academy was the first of its kind in the UK to educate children aged 13 to 19 with a focus on engineering.
Before reopening, it adopted a series of measures to protect students, including hand sanitizers outside of each classroom, separate lunch breaks, and mandatory wearing of masks when moving between classes.
