Exam-Year Pupils Would Return A Week Earlier

Mr Williamson Education Secretary said the temporary school shutdowns would cut chains of transmission. Primary closures would be reviewed every two weeks.  Secondary schools across most of England are to remain closed for an extra two weeks for most pupils, to help regain control of coronavirus.

Gavin Williamson told the Commons that exam-year pupils would return a week earlier than their schoolmates in the week of 11 January.

In the meantime, schools will have more time to set up mass testing plans.

In a few areas with the highest infection rates, primaries would remain closed temporarily, he added.

The areas where primary schools would remain closed are: most of London, much of Essex and Kent, Hastings and Rother in East Sussex, Milton Keynes and parts of Hertfordshire.

Mr Williamson said but teaching unions said the move did not go far enough, and one labelled it another "last-minute mess". They have been calling for a working test-and-trace system since before schools returned from the lockdown in September.

The move comes after most of England was put into the toughest tier four restrictions, and follows warnings from medics about pressure on hospitals - and from government scientists about the increasing contagiousness of the new strain of coronavirus.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: "We must face the reality. The sheer pace of and spread of this new variant requires us to to take even tougher action in some areas."

He stressed that the children of key workers and vulnerable pupils would still be able to return to primaries or secondaries next week.

"At this critical moment, with the prospect of freedom within reach - we've got to redouble our efforts to contain the virus," he said.