PLANS to end school ‘bubbles’ this autumn have been met with a mixed response by secondary schools in Whitchurch and Malpas.

On Tuesday, June 29, the Department for Education confirmed that school isolation rules in England could be brought to an end this autumn.

Currently children have to self-isolate for 10 days if another pupil in their bubble tests positive for coronavirus.

It has resulted in a sharp rise in pupils off school for Covid-related reasons, with the latest official figures showing 239,000 children in England missing classes – as the numbers trebled in the space of a week.

The department said ministers have written to secondary schools asking them to prepare to potentially replace isolation rules with testing.

A spokesman said: “We are provisionally asking secondary schools and colleges to prepare to offer on-site testing when students return for the new academic year, so that schools are ready in case it is needed to keep as many children as possible in face-to-face education.

“We will provide further details about the approach to protective measures and test and trace in education from September in due course.”

This announcement has been met with a mixed response from schools though, with the end to isolation rules being welcomed, but concern over the short time frame.

Alison Pearson, headteacher at The Marches School part of the Marches Academy Trust, which also runs Sir John Talbot’s in Whitchurch, was looking forward to fewer days of ‘lost learning’.

“We are expecting some clearer guidance in the weeks to come and will rise to this next challenge as we have done all the others,” she said.

“Anything that reduces the days of lost learning when a bubble has to collapse, that also does not compromise health would be welcomed.”

Meanwhile the news has not been met as positively at Bishop Heber High School in Malpas.

A spokesman for the school suggested the short time frame could be ‘enourmously disruptive’ to the schools current plans.

“We await government guidance on July 19 – it’s unfortunate that we are being informed of government policy in this way.

“We have testing protocols in place from March 2021 when we successfully tested every student three times on their return to school after the spring lockdown.

“So, we could adapt these plans for the start of the new school year if it’s required that students and staff are to be tested on their return following the summer break.

“It would be enormously disruptive to start off the new school year and unfortunate that this news hasn’t be shared earlier to be able to plan before we break up in three weeks,” added the spokesman.