Whole year at high school sent home
HUNDREDS of teenagers were sent home to selfisolate as two Halton high schools reported coronavirus cases.
Ormiston Bolingbroke Academy (OBA) in Runcorn told its entire Year 11 cohort, around 150 pupils, to self-isolate after a student tested positive for Covid-19.
The year had only returned to school on September 8 and had only had seven days in the classroom so far this academic year.
They are now unlikely to return before the beginning of October.
Last Thursday, September 17, a spokesperson for the academy said: “Following a student testing positive for Covid-19 and consulting closely with Public Health England, we have taken the decision to send the Year 11 bubble home to self-isolate as a precautionary measure.
“The school remains open to all other students and our Year 11 students will now be accessing remote learning from home to limit any disruption to their education.
“The health, safety and wellbeing of our school community continues to be our number one priority.
“We will continue to implement the many robust safety measures we have in place including social distancing, staggered school days, and increased hygiene and cleaning protocols to help limit any spread of the virus.”
The news came a day after Wade Deacon High School in Widnes confirmed it had also seen three more cases of coronavirus just days after telling its entire Year 9 class to self-isolate.
Describing the situation as “rapidly evolving and complex”, headteacher Simon Corner told parents that two Year 11 pupils and one Year 8 pupil had tested positive for the virus.
However, Mr Corner said the school had been able to implement test and trace procedures which meant that it could limit the number of pupils who had to self-isolate and did not have to send the entire year groups home.
In a letter to parents, he said: “Unfortunately, in the case of Year 9, the specific circumstances did not allow us to implement the same track and trace procedures and so resulted in a much wider impact for that year group as advised by Public Health.
“In such situations we are dealing with sensitive information that we cannot share with you; we understand that this may be frustrating.
“We politely ask that you trust us, alongside the Public Health Teams, to make informed decisions in the best interests of our students, families and the wider community.
“We respect and listen to the views that we receive but we remain firm that the decisions we make are made with the advice of experts and those with the knowledge to assure us of our decisions.”
Coronavirus-related restrictions are increaed across Halton - see page 8