A reminder that secondary schools have been asked to offer an onsite test to children before they can start their education in January. For those families that have provided consent for the Lateral Flow Device (LFD) testing of students in school in January, I am please to be able to confirm the following arrangements.
Students for whom we have received consent in Years 7 ,11, 12 and 13 are to attend school for testing only on Tuesday 4th January. We would ask that Year 7 students attend school for their LFD test between 9.00am and 11.00am; we would ask that students in Years 11, 12 and 13 attend school for their LFD test between 11.30am and 2.30pm. Students will arrive via Main Reception and make their way to the Hall. In line with current government guidance, we request that students wear a face covering and that parents wait for their child outside. We anticipate each student’s test will take between 15-30 minutes. Students do not need to attend for their test in uniform. We will only notify parents of a positive test result. This would then require confirmation through a PCR test and, following government procedures, the student self-isolating until the result of that test was received. All students in Years 7, 11, 12 and 13 are able to return to school for normal lessons from Wednesday 5th January 2022 unless they have symptoms of COVID-19 and/or have tested positive via an LFD or PCR Test.
Students for whom we have received consent in Years 8, 9 and 10 are to attend school for testing only on Wednesday 5th January. We would ask that Year 8 students attend school for their LFD test between 8.30am and 10.15am; we would ask that students in Year 9 attend school for their LFD test between 10.30am and 12.00pm. Students in Year 10 are to attend for their LFD test between 12.30pm and 2.30pm. As above, students will arrive via Main Reception and make their way to the Hall. In line with current government guidance, we request that students wear a face covering and that parents wait for their child outside. We anticipate each student’s test will take between 15-30 minutes. Students do not need to attend in uniform. We will only notify parents of a positive test result. This would then require confirmation through a PCR test and, following government procedures, the student self-isolating until the result of that test was received. All students in Years 8, 9 and 10 are able to return to school for normal lessons from Thursday 6th January unless they have symptoms of COVID-19 and/or have tested positive via an LFD or PCR Test.
If you have children across multiple year groups, we ask that you select the most convenient time on 4th January for your children to be tested however students in Years 8, 9 and 10 are not able to return to school for normal lessons before Thursday 6th January, even if they return a negative test on 4th January.
If you have given your consent for the Lateral Flow Device (LFD) testing of your son/daughter but they have tested positive for COVID-19 recently, they should not be tested using either PCR or rapid lateral flow tests for 90 days, unless they develop new symptoms during this time – in which case they should be re-tested immediately using PCR. They would therefore not attend school on their designated testing day, regardless of consent being given. This 90-day period is from the initial onset of symptoms or, if asymptomatic when tested, their positive test result.
We would encourage your child to continue to undertake twice weekly LFD tests during the school holiday and prior to returning to their setting in January. This is particularly important if they are not attending for onsite testing with us on January 4th or 5th. With social mixing during the holiday period, it is vital that we support a successful start to the new term.
Thank you once again for your continued support.