Flu outbreak forces school to close doors

A SCHOOL in Stockport was forced to close last week because of a mass outbreak of flu.

On Tuesday (December 6) nearly 250 pupils and staff were forced to stay away from lessons at Bramhall High School.

And on Wednesday 380 pupils and 21 staff reported sick, prompting headteacher Lynne Fox to announce the school would close until yesterday because of the ‘unprecedented situation’ facing staff.

The school has also undergone a ‘full deep clean.’

The outbreak forced the school to cancel a planned inspection by Ofsted on Tuesday.

Dozens of pupils, teachers and other staff at the school started complaining about flu-like symptoms. Some classes were left with only a handful of pupils.

The school, which has 1,200 pupils, wrote to parents urging them maintain standards of cleanliness to avoid the spread of infection.

In a letter sent to all parents and published on the school’s website, Ms Fox wrote: “As you are aware we have had an unprecedented situation at school with so many of our students and staff being ill. Throughout this difficult period I have been working on a daily basis with the local authority and with Public Health England to ensure we are able to take care of everyone to the best of our ability.

“As the cases of flu are continuing to rise we have now been advised by the Health Authorities to close the school to enable all our poorly students and staff to recover.”

She continued: “This five day period of closure will allow anyone currently ill to have a period of recuperation to avoid any danger of reinfection.

“The building will therefore be closed to students and staff during this period whilst we carry out a full deep clean protocol and there will be no access to the site during this period.

“Clearly this decision has not been taken lightly but I am acting on the sound professional guidance of my colleagues from both the local authority and from Public Health England.

“I realise this is difficult for parents but on this occasion this is the only sensible option available to us.

“Please continue to follow the guidance on our website if your son or daughter does present with symptoms during this period and seek professional advice.

“May I take this opportunity to thank you for your support over the last few days as we have worked together to manage this and I am confident that we will be able to ‘catch up’ on some of the lost learning time prior to the Christmas break.”