Year group at The Clere asked to learn from home due to Covid-caused staff absences

A year group at a North Hampshire school is being asked to study from home for the rest of the week due to staff absences caused by Covid.

The year 9 class at secondary school The Clere in Burghclere have been asked not to come into school today (Wednesday) and tomorrow – with Friday being a teacher training day.

The school said on Facebook it had “taken all reasonable actions to maintain normal working practice” but due to high levels of staff absence caused by Covid, it was “now not possible to provide on-site learning for all five year groups”.

It said students in the affected year group will be able to access their learning via the links provided which were shared with students in September.

It added: “We thank you for your support with this matter and hope to be able to resume full working practice in the near future.”

The latest Coronavirus figures for Basingstoke and Deane says there were 227 positive cases in the borough yesterday.

Within the area of Woolton Hill, Burghclere & Bishops Green, the latest figures say there were 75 cases in the seven days leading up to January 6, meaning there’s a case rate of 997.6 per 100,000 people.

Comparatively, the rate per 100,000 people across the whole of the borough is 1,513.8.