Cornwall's Mithian School forced to close 'last minute' following increase in Covid cases

A school in Cornwall has closed for the rest of the week because of increased Covid cases among pupils.

Bosses at Mithian School, on the outskirts of St Agnes, say they have taken the "difficult decision" to close after parents notified them of Covid cases at the weekend.

The school wrote to parents on Monday 27 September to say it had been affected by Covid cases and has since switched to online learning.

It is the second school which has been forced to close in the county in a week because of Covid after Stithians Community Primary School closed on September 22 for ten days.

The letter sent home to parents and guardians reads: "I apologise for the timing of this letter; however, Public Health England have been monitoring the cases throughout the day both in the school and local area.

"Following an increased number of confirmed Covid-19 cases reported over the weekend for our families, and after careful consideration with Public Health England, we have taken the difficult decision to close the school."

When the school reopens from the closure - on Monday 4 October - there will be some restrictions in place.

"I will be putting some restrictions in again and will be monitoring the situation. I regret that I was not able to discuss this with your child as we would always endeavour to do prior to such a decision," the letter added.

The headteacher said there is no longer a requirement in educational settings to identify close contacts of students and staff with Covid-19 but said the school is continuing to work with Public Health England to prevent a further spread.

All pupils were encouraged to take a PCR test and to let the school know the results.