An Oxfordshire school has announced its immediate closure following a growing number of Covid cases.

A urgent notice was sent to parents at Wood Green School in Witney yesterday evening, which has been shared with the Oxford Mail.

From headteacher Rob Shadbolt, it said: "We have been notified of more cases of Covid-19 this evening and some more potential cases, including staff members.

"Whilst we are dealing with each case individually, the impact of the cases is that we have very high levels of staff absence and we now do not have enough teachers to deliver education in school safely for the next two days."

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He said this meant he had 'reluctantly' taken the decision that they needed to close the secondary school, which has around 1,000 pupils, for the term with 'immediate effect'.

Mr Shadbolt added: "I have spoken with Oxfordshire County Council and with Governors and they fully support this decision.

"This is not something that I have done lightly, but I believe that it is the right thing to do for everyone’s safety."

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On Sunday, Mr Shadbolt had written to parents about meetings the school had with Public Health and Oxfordshire County Council about cases, with more emerging at the weekend.

He said: "The conclusion of their investigation is that the cases are not a reflection of what we are doing in school."

The headteacher, in his notice to parents yesterday, said this morning, teachers will set work for students to do at home, which will be posted on the schoool's Insight portal.

He continued: "We will then bring forward our training on Microsoft Teams and we will be in touch to tell you more about how this will work.

"We hope to trial more lessons this week now."

Mr Shadbolt apologised for the late notice but said the 'additional cases only were known about this evening'.

"I thought parents would prefer to know tonight rather than having to close in the morning."

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He said if childcare is an issue today, parents can still send children to school and they will arrange for supervised study in year group bubbles, with enough staff to safely do this.

He added the school would be in touch today with updates for parents, adding: "Thank you for your continuing support and I know you will realise that we are doing this in the interests of safety of students, staff and families."

Oxfordshire County Council's emergency closures site has now been updated to confirm the school will be shut until November 2.

It also noted the school has said: "Although we are closing from tomorrow we are remaining open for students who are unable to stay at home due to family circumstances."