PUPILS were sent home from a secondary school after a positive case of coronavirus was confirmed.

On Friday morning, half the Year 7 group at the John Mason School in Abingdon were sent home at 11am after Public Health England confirmed the positive case of Covid-19.

The full year group were off today, after a deep clean of the school took place over the weekend.

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Sarah Brinkley, executive headteacher of the Abingdon Learning Trust, which oversees the school, said: “We followed Public Health England advice and with the bubble system in place, it’s a good test of it.

“We feel the system in place has been very effective and parents have been very supportive.

“The community has been really calm and considered in its reaction.

“Even though the bubble system is in place, we erred on the side of caution and had the deep clean over the weekend.”

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Half the year group will return tomorrow, while the students sent home on Friday will be notified when they are able to return.

Last month, Mrs Brinkley said the Government had ‘passed the buck’ with its guidance on face masks, saying the Government needed to take more responsibility and give clearer guidance to schools.

She said: “It’s a standing joke in the teacher community that the [Department of Education] guidance is a bit like the pirate’s code in Pirates of the Caribbean – it’s just guidance.

“That’s ridiculous. It is a pandemic. It is not a joke. Clear guidance is needed because people’s lives are at stake.”

Mrs Brinkley took on the role of executive headteacher, as well as director of secondary education, earlier this year.

The Abingdon Learning Trust oversees three schools – John Mason School, Fitzharrys School and Rush Common School.