PARENTS tonight rallied behind an Oxford school where the county’s only swine flu victim is a pupil, as health chiefs urged them not to worry.

Information was handed out at Sandhills Primary School today and families were told the six-year-old who contracted the illness after a holiday in Mexico had fully recovered. She may return to school today.

Oxfordshire County Council and the Thames Valley Health Protection Unit told parents: “The school is safe.”

Headteacher Stephanie Lovett said in a letter: “I am very happy to report that the pupil is recovering very well and the Health Protection Agency has confirmed that there is no reason why she should not return to school this Wednesday and so we look forward to welcoming her then.”

John Mitchell, from the county council’s children, young people and families department, was also at the school yesterday morning.

He said: “The message today is that the young girl who had flu is recovering extremely well and consequently the school is safe for kids to return to.

“There is no need for parents to be worried.

“The headteacher has acted in co-operation with Oxfordshire County Council throughout and has acted very swiftly and properly to all issues raised.”

Dr Noel McCarthy, a consultant in communicable disease control at Thames Valley Health Protection Unit, said the virus was “easy to spread from child to child in a school”.

But he added: “The fact the girl’s parents acted quickly is really why we didn’t have a problem of closing schools like they have elsewhere in the country. They kept her at home and she was treated until she got better.

“There was no risk to the school before she fell ill.”

He said the situation at the school and elsewhere in the county would continue to be monitored.

He added: “Our message is we are reasonably confident there is no ongoing risk to the school or any others in the county.”

Parents outside the school gates said they were phoned by teachers over the weekend to inform them of the situation.

Marian Mear, who has a daughter in Year Five, said: “What else could the school have done? I’m not going to criticise what they did.

“I did think about not bringing my daughter today, but if you keep them off school it’s not good for their education.”

Fellow parent Jo Newman added: “I think the head and senior members of staff contacted everybody as soon as they knew. I think the news came at 4pm on Saturday and by 5pm most people had been phoned.

“There are always concerns, but I think the school have done everything they can, acting on the advice they have been given.”

Andrew Smith, MP for Oxford East, said: “The most important thing here is that the little girl concerned is recovering well, which is great news. We must also thank the health professionals for what by all accounts is good handling of the situation, and have every sympathy with the school, who presumably had to await confirmation of the strain of flu this was. “I also thought the Oxford Mail’s reporting of the situation was balanced and responsible. “Given that the girl concerned had been at school, it would have been wise to name the school earlier. With something like this, there is always going to be rumour and anxiety, and I think it is best to give people the facts, while of course protecting patient confidentiality.”