STAFF at Thomas Adams school in Wem say they are proud of the work done in carrying out Covid tests to allow children to return to school.

Since January and the start of lockdown, the school has been carrying out asymptomatic testing for keyworker/vulnerable students and staff on-site.

To have students return to the classroom, staff at the school quickly set-up and organised space for the mass testing of 1200 students to have three tests in school.

More than 3,000 tests have been carried out in three weeks, with 90 per cent of parents giving consent.

READ MORE:

At the Lowe Hill site, the school set up nine testing bays, with each bay containing a maintained, sterile and private area for students to take their mouth and nasal swabs.

Each day, a daily team of around 33 staff and five volunteers worked together to meet and greet students, register them, supervise the testing process and process the Lateral Flow tests.

Finally, the recording of results which were then uploaded to the NHS website.

Peter Neale, business manager at the school, thanked the staff and volunteers involved.

"Thank you to everyone who has been involved in the testing process," he said.

"This is a real example of teamwork and the whole community coming together to ensure everyone's safety and allowing a safe return to school."

Meanwhile headteacher, Mark Cooper, added: "The young people have responded brilliantly and have been calm and well-behaved in swabbing themselves".

Now that students have completed three tests in school, the school has now distributed more than 2,400 home testing kits.

Students will now continue with twice-weekly, symptom-free testing as part of the fight against Covid-19.