More than 12,000 youngsters in Kent have tested positive for Covid-19 since classrooms reopened in September.

Pupils are set to return for the new term on January 11 despite mounting calls to keep schools shut as infection rates remain high.

Many fear face-to-face teaching will greatly increase the risk of the virus spreading as youngsters mix in lessons and on buses.

And analysis by KentOnline reveals just how many have already contracted the infection since schools reopened in the autumn for the first time in six months.

The numbers cannot be broken down purely for school-age children, but there have been 10,816 positive tests among those aged five to 19, and a further 1,499 in the 0-4 age group.

The cases amount to about one in five of all those reported across Kent and Medway in that time.

But many secondary schools in Kent will reopen to GCSE and A-level pupils on January 11, with other year groups following a week later.

Secondary school children had been scheduled to return to lessons next week, but Education Secretary Gavin Williamson revealed yesterday that the new term would be delayed by at least a week.

The delay is to ensure an "ambitious" mass testing programme is in place for secondary school and college pupils on their return.

Classes will only be open to vulnerable youngsters and children of key workers.

Speaking before Mr Williamson's announcement, Herne Bay High School principal Jon Boyes said: "The one thing you can’t do is play around with kids’ lives.

“Testing won’t solve the problem – but it will help make things a little bit safer.”

Mr Williamson also announced that the "overwhelming majority" of primary schools will welcome children back as planned, save for "a small number" in the worst-hit Tier 4 areas.

These include primaries in Dartford, Gravesham, Sevenoaks, Medway, Ashford, Maidstone, Tonbridge and Malling, Tunbridge Wells and Swale, which will remain shut to all pupils, apart from the vulnerable and those whose parents are key workers.

Kent MPs Rosie Duffield (Lab) and Sir Roger Gale (Con) support calls for teachers to be vaccinated before term restarts.

Sir Roger, who represents North Thanet, said at the weekend: “Teachers and parents need a clear and definitive statement that schools will not be required to reopen in January until effective vaccination is made available to teaching staff.

"Education is important but so are the lives and wellbeing of teachers, and key-working parents need time to plan for the care of their children.”

Ms Duffield, who represents Canterbury and Whitstable, believes Mr Williamson should consider adding teachers to the priority list for coronavirus jabs.

She also says that testing programmes should be put in place in schools ahead of their reopening, after research showed the new strain spreads more easily among children than previous forms of the virus.

“One way of ensuring staff feel sure it is safe for them to reopen schools could be the vaccination of teachers as a priority,” she said.

“Proper testing needs to be up and running and the R rate in Kent needs to be under control, particularly as young people are so vulnerable to the new strain.”

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