HEREFORDSHIRE schools have had to look carefully at their plans for staff and pupils over the next few weeks after the county’s first coronavirus case was confirmed.

Martin Farmer, headteacher at Queen Elizabeth High School in Bromyard, said its skiing trip was moved to Andorra from Italy.

He said: “We will continue to follow government advice, but behind the scenes we are making preparations.

“We will not close the school unless Public Health England or the Department of Education enforce a school closure either as an individual school or as part of a country-wide programme of containment measures.

“We had a planned school skiing trip to northern Italy due to depart this coming Saturday and we took the decision to cancel it prior to the shutdown of Italy and the changed advice.

“Those students that wish to go skiing are now going to Andorra and parental satisfaction with how we dealt with this was high.”H

e said the school is preparing is ways similar to everyone else.

He added: “Increased hygiene and demonstrations to students, information home and we are planning how we would facilitate an enforced closure with work packs etc."

Whitecross Hereford High School were due to host a student media day but have taken the decision to pull the event due to the situation with coronavirus.

“Several other year groups were due to be going on trips, and senior leadership have made the decision to cancel these trips due to the developing Covid-19 virus," a spokesman said.

“With these trips cancelled, we do not have the capacity to run the young reporter day, and so that too has been cancelled”.