Coronavirus: Collyer’s College in Horsham to move to online lessons

Principal Sally Bromley said: “It seemed sensible to reduce anxiety and protect staff and students and their families.”

The Weald today announced a partial closure will be in place on Thursday and Friday this week due to increasing staff absence.

The school will be open to years seven, 11, 12 and 13 but years eight, nine and ten will be expected to complete work at home, according to a statement from headteacher Peter Woodman.

He said: “We will review the situation over the course of the remainder of this week.

“We are facing three separate possibilities: a further partial closure which will require other year groups to stay at home, a more extended but still partial closure involving more than three year groups, or a full school closure.

“We know that there will be parents and carers in our community who are frontline workers (for example, but not exclusively: the emergency services, the health and social care sector and education) and who may feel they cannot leave their Year 8, 9 or 10 child at home unsupervised for long periods of time. If you consider yourself to be in this category, and you have no other alternative, please send your child to school with a note explaining your circumstances.”

Students at school ‘must be prepared’ for an adapted curriculum, he added.

Tanbridge House is open as normal to all students except for year nine today, March 18.

On Thursday the school will be closed to year eight only, on Friday closed to year ten only and on Monday closed to year seven only, according to a statement on the school website.

Millais is also open but has stopped all school trips abroad, according to the school website. Visits in the UK are being assessed on a case by case basis, a statement issued on Monday said.

Forest is also remaining open and a spokesman said staff were spending time in tutor period discussing with students the importance of washing their hands.