St Leonards secondary school partially closes due to Covid-19 cases

St Leonards Academy, in Edinburgh Road, St Leonards, has been partially closed to students in year 9 and 10.

Parents were notified in an email on Sunday night (November 29), saying the closure was with immediate effect, meaning students were to stay away from the school on Monday (November 30).

These students will be expected to return on Monday, December 14.

The closure excludes the children of key workers and identified students, the school said.

The decision to partially close the school was made following a ‘detailed discussion’ with Public Health England, the trust said.

A spokesman for the University of Brighton Academies Trust, who operate the school, said: “Today we can confirm that following a member of our school community testing positive over the weekend, we have decided to partially close to students in Year 9 and 10, except for children of critical workers and identify students, with immediate effect.

“We want to assure the local community that this decision to partially close was not taken lightly, but necessary based on the number of staff we currently have self-isolating.

“The education of all our students remains of utmost importance to us so, we will now move our learning online for students affected until their return to school on Monday 14th December. Students in year groups not affected will be expected to attend the Academy as usual.”

St Leonards Academy is the latest school in the area to close to at least some of its students following a Covid-19 outbreak.

Bexhill Academy was closed on November 19 and November 20 to all students and is currently employing a staggered reopening to bring all students back.

Ark Alexandra sent all students in year 7 and 8 home to isolate and closed its Helenswood campus for a deep clean. Year 8 students return today (Monday, November 30), while year 7 return on Wednesday (December 2).

Hastings Academy was closed for two weeks at the end of September following an outbreak of cases.