All Year 8 and Sixth Form students at the Fallibroome Academy in Macclesfield have been asked to isolate following one positive Covid-19 case at the school.

In an email sent out to parents on Sunday, headteacher Francis Power confirmed that an unidentified Year 8 pupil received a positive test, while their sibling in the Sixth Form is "feeling unwell" and being tested.

In response to this, Mr Power told parents and guardians: "All students in Y8 have been asked to isolate at home with immediate effect. At present, we are assuming this isolation period will need to extend for 14 days."

While the sibling in Sixth Form had not been confirmed as having the virus, that year group will also need to isolate for 14 days as they are "assuming" his Covid-19 test will also be positive.

In line with government guidelines, people with positive cases need to isolate for 10 days after experiencing symptoms.

"In the days ahead, the Health Protection team may be able to help support us in identifying the close contacts for the two ill students. This may allow us to ask a smaller group of students to isolate and to bring others back to school," the letter said.

Mr Power added: "In the absence of such advice, we are choosing to be very cautious by asking the entire 'bubble' for both students to remain at home."

The affected year groups will be continuing their classes online during their 14-day isolation period.

advertisement

In an update today (Monday), the school confirmed that Year 8 students will be able to return on Monday 21 September and the Sixth Form on Monday 28 September.

These dates have been worked out based on when the siblings were last at school.

If the sibling from Sixth Form gets a negative test, that year group can return immediately, the school said.

Mr Power acknowledged that the news would "cause concern for everyone in our community", but stressed the measures in place at the school are there to prevent further transmission.