Headteacher gets Covid as cases at school surge

A HEREFORDSHIRE headteacher has caught Covid and is selfisolating at home – despite being double-jabbed.

The Wigmore School Academy Trust has cancelled its open day and open evening due to

Covid-19 cases in the school community.

The school also implemented additional Covid safety measures for Year 8 (pupils aged 12-13) due to high cases.

Despite being double-jabbed, Dr Rob Patterson, the executive headteacher, came down with the virus last week, resulting in his deputy taking on some of his responsibilities.

He said in a letter to parents and guardians on the school’s website that he was “thankfully on the mend” amid rising cases among students and staff at the academy trust.

He added that he was “one of a small number of staff” to have tested positive for Covid, alongside “an increasing number of students”.

The school has “exceeded the threshold” for cases in Year 8, which means all of those students will be obliged to wear face coverings during lessons for 10 days.

However, the situation is much better in Wigmore Primary School, which has seen “very few” cases of Covid.

The Wigmore School Academy Trust has a nursery, junior school and senior school. The co-educational senior school has a total of 446 students and was rated “good” in its latest Ofsted inspection.

Government guidance stipulates certain measures that schools should take if Covid cases rise, including reinstating face coverings and potentially moving to remote learning for a period of time, according to the Government’s school information service.