Two-year-old groups at a high school in North Tyneside will be homeschooled for a week after a ‘large number’ of Covid-19 cases.
Years 7 and 8 of Churchill Community College in Wallsend are slated to move into distance learning June 15-23 as students isolate themselves.
A letter from the school seen by ChronicleLive says: “Following a large number of positive cases in students in grades 7 and 8, after discussion with representatives of public health and the local authority, we made the decision. switch to distance learning for all 7th and 8th grade students as of Tuesday June 15, 2021, all students then returning to school on Wednesday June 23, unless your child’s official isolation period is does not fall after this date.
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“Where possible, we will be running live lessons for students on their regular schedule, which will begin with a live rally at 8.45am on Tuesday June 15th. “
He adds: “As we enter a period of distance learning again, we would like to ask for the support of parents and guardians so that we can continue to educate your child in this way.
“Please read the following and if you have any questions or concerns contact your child’s learning coordinator.”
Boris Johnson announced on Monday evening that the final step in easing the lockdown restrictions would not go as planned on June 21, but would continue until July 19.
The delay has been blamed on the spread of the Delta variant of the virus, which has become dominant in the UK in recent weeks.
Although the rapidly spreading strain has not yet been as widespread in the North East as some hot spots, particularly in the North West, it has now caused a rapid spike in cases – Newcastle, North Tyneside and Northumberland reporting all now have infection rates above 100 cases per 100,000 population.
Meanwhile, Gateshead on Monday recorded an infection rate of 65 cases per 100,000 people.