Grammar School closes as Omicron case found
THE Grammar School and Sixth Form Centre closed to most students with immediate effect last night after a case of the Omicron variant was confirmed at the school.
A student, whose age has not been revealed, was confirmed with the Omicron variant yesterday evening after testing as part of the school contact tracing programme. They had no direct travel link. Last night it was not clear if more cases were already in the school but Education admitted it thought that there would be.
The test confirmed Public Health’s belief that the variant is already within the community and it expects to see Covid cases beginning to increase again as a result.
Public Health made it clear that there was no need for it to close the school, but the Education Committee made the call to minimise the risk of students and staff having to isolate over Christmas. Education is likely to take a different approach from the New Year.
‘We have taken swift steps to do all that we can to minimise the risk of any further spread of [Omicron] through the school. We cannot ignore how close we are to Christmas and that was at the forefront of our minds,’ said Education vice-president Deputy Bob Murray.
‘But we also need the community to understand that things will look different in January when students return to settings. We are expecting a lot more Omicron cases and it is simply not possible or proportionate to disrupt our young people’s education any more than absolutely necessary.
‘If this was January it is highly unlikely that we would have come to the same decision as we must live responsibly with Covid-19, which now includes the new variant, and that means us all finding a way to manage its implications in such a way that allows education to continue.’
Nick Hynes, director of Education, added: ‘Things will look very different in January and all involved in the delivery of education will have to adapt to what is likely to be a new norm of managing disruption as a result of absences, while maintaining our absolute focus of keeping settings open and delivering education.’
Pupils who need to go to school until the official end of term next week will still be accommodated at Les Varendes.
