Students in Years 7 and 9 at St Dunstan's School in Glastonbury have been told to self-isolate for the rest of the term following two suspected positive coronavirus cases.

The school sent a letter to parents this evening (December 7) to say it had been advised by Public Health England that it is highly likely there has been a positive case of Covid-19 within both the Year 7 and Year 9 groups at the school.

The school has followed the national guidance and on the recommendation of Public Health England has requested that all Year 7 and Year 9 students self-isolate for 14 days.

This will take the students to the end of term, so the next day they are due back in school will be Wednesday January 6.

The school says it will continue to monitor the situation and is working closely with Public Health England and Somerset County Council.

Due to the measures the school has taken since the start of term to minimise the risk of Covid-19, the school will remain open to students in Year 8, 10 and 11.

Head teacher Keith Howard said: "While I fully understand this will cause anxiety among the school community, I can assure you all necessary steps are being taken to minimise risk to others.

"The school has again been deep cleaned tonight and we will continue to follow our procedures to minimise contacts between different year groups within school.

"Our procedures have been discussed with Public Health England and the local authority, as part of the rapid risk assessment that schools must undertake, and they are satisfied with the measures we have in place to reduce the risk of Covid-19 spreading.

"These cases are believed to be a sporadic case in one family in the same locality and the source of the case is not linked to St Dunstan's School."