A FIFTH of state schools have 30 or more pupils self-isolating due to coronavirus

A fifth of state schools have 30 or more pupils self-isolating due to coronavirus, with overall attendance across institutions in England at 86 per cent, figures show.

The majority of secondary schools in England sent home at least one student because of coronavirus last week, the Department for Education data suggest.

Around 6-7 per cent of state school pupils – excluding schools on half term – did not attend class for Covid-19-related reasons on October 22.

More than a quarter (26 per cent) of schools said they had one or more pupils self-isolating due to potential contact with a case of coronavirus inside the school.

This equates to 55 per cent of secondary schools and 20 per cent of primary schools.

Overall, approximately 86 per cent of students on the roll in state schools, excluding schools on half-term breaks, were in attendance on October 22.

Around 82 per cent of secondary school pupils and 90 per cent of primary school pupils were in school last week, the figures show.

It comes as pupils in the north of England will be at a disadvantage if the Government presses ahead with plans for exams next summer, a thinktank said.

Figures show secondary school attendance rates in some local authorities in the north as low as 61 per cent as coronavirus infection rates in the areas have risen.

The Northern Powerhouse Partnership has called for coursework to be used to assess GCSE and A-Level students instead of exams.

Head of policy for the partnership Sarah Mulholland said: ‘The Northern Powerhouse Partnership remains very concerned that students across the north are at a disadvantage if the Department for Education opts to go ahead with GCSE and A-Level exams next summer.

‘Northern students are the ones currently being impacted negatively by high infection rates and self-isolation.

‘Currently, the north has some local authorities with attendance rates for secondary schools as low as 61 per cent whereas a number of southern local authorities are close to the usual national average of 95 per cent.

‘We appreciate the Government’s desire to try and keep things as normal as possible but this is now not possible in many northern communities.

‘We urge the Government to commit to continuous assessment as it is a fairer alternative to the proposed examination plan.

‘It would also reduce the risk of a similar fiasco such as we saw this summer.

‘Assessing children this way, if it is planned in advance, may in fact be more rigorous than what is proposed if plans were to have to change at short notice.’

Statistics for October 15 showed in Knowsley, which is subject to the Tier 3 restrictions as part of Liverpool City Region, there was 61 per cent attendance for pupils in secondary schools which responded.

The figures, which were placed in the House of Commons library following a written question from Wirral West MP Margaret Greenwood, showed the North West and Yorkshire and Humber were the regions with the lowest attendances in their secondary schools, at 81 per cent.

The South West had the highest rate of pupil attendance at 90 per cent.

The Government has said exams will go ahead in 2021, but will be held three weeks later than usual.