A mobile COVID-19 testing unit has been sent to Wigmore High School after a number of cases of Coronavirus were confirmed.
An update from the school said:
Dear Parents and Guardians
I wanted to keep you up to date with the latest situation at Wigmore High School regarding the outbreak of COVID-19 that we have been dealing with over the past week. We have had a small number of additional cases reported to us today, but all are in Year 10 – the first group affected last week. Yesterday we sent home a number of students following a case in Year 8 and that case has now been confirmed as positive with a PCR test. A letter has also gone to this cohort today to inform them of their self-isolation period. As we have now had a number of cases and in more than one-year group, we have been back in touch with Public Health England and they have agreed to send a mobile testing centre onto school site later this week. This will provide PCR tests for any student that we have sent home to self-isolate. They will not provide additional testing to other members of the school or community, but as I’m sure you are aware PCR tests are available online for close contacts of a confirmed case. Additionally, I should stress that a negative PCR test does not reduce the length of self-isolation for individuals, as it is possible that the virus is still incubating at the time of the test. It will, however, help us to identify any additional cases and ensure that any other associated contacts are able to self-isolate and reduce further spread.
We are expecting the Mobile testing unit to be on-site on Wednesday 14th and Friday 16th July, from 9am until 3pm and we would ask parents to bring in their child for testing on the following days:
On Wednesday 14th July; All Year 10 children that have not already had a positive result from a PCR test taken over the past 5 days
On Friday 16th July; All other Wigmore High School children who are currently self-isolating after being informed to by the school.
If your child is in one of these cohorts and you consent to them carrying out a supervised PCR test (and for your child’s data to be shared with the NHS Track and Trace system), then please email covid@wigmore.hereford.sch.uk with their full name, date of birth, year group and your planned time of arrival. When you arrive on site, please drive into the main school entrance and turn left to head into our car park. Then please wait in your car for further instruction from the on-site testing team. Please note that school buses arrive from 3pm, so you would be advised to arrive well in advance of this to avoid becoming stuck on site at the end of the school day.
Sadly, I am hearing from teaching colleagues up and down the county that they are experiencing exactly to same situations in their schools. I will write again soon with any further news and with details about how things will be different at the start of the new academic year.
Yours sincerely
Dr Rob Patterson
Executive Headteacher
