37 pupils in year 10 at Brimsham Green school have been  advised to remain at home after one student in the year group tested positive for Covid-19.

In a letter to parents Headteacher, Kim Garland, confirmed the student had not been in class since Thursday, 5 November.

The letter says: "Following discussion with Public Health, we have gone through a rigorous process of identifying the close contacts of the positive case. 

"This has resulted in 37 students needing to complete the full 14 day isolation. 

"All other students in the Year Group are returning to school tomorrow.

"So that you are aware of the process we go through to identify what makes a child a ‘close contact’ of another student, I thought it would be helpful to share this with you. We take the following factors into account:

"How has the child travelled to school? Who have they come into face to face contact with? Have they been closer than 2m?

"What classes has the child attended? Who have they sat next to? What other children are within 2m of the confirmed case? Have the windows and doors of the classroom been open throughout the lesson? Have hygiene protocols been followed?

"Has the child spent face-to-face time with other students at break and lunch? If so, for how long? Was this outside, or inside? If inside, how close to the windows/doors did they sit?

"You can see that key mitigating factors are how well ventilated enclosed spaces are, as well as whether contact is face to face, for how long, and at what distance. 

"The distance of 2m is based on the scientific evidence of how far droplets travel from one person to another.

"Data I have seen today indicates that transmission within South Gloucestershire school settings is low, and to maintain this we will continue to: keep classroom windows and doors open, arrange classrooms so all students are facing forwards, remind students of the need to socially distance from their friends and staff, follow hygiene protocols, and enforce the now mandatory wearing of face masks when students are moving between lessons."

South Gloucestershire Council has produced a  COVID-19 guide for parents and carers to help  understand when NOT to send a child to school, the steps to take and when to send them back.

Visit southglos.gov.uk/schoolreturn to view the guide.