Five more people have tested positive at a school which has been hit hard by coronavirus.

Two Year 8 pupils and three members of staff are now isolating after catching the virus - and all Year 7 pupils have been forced to take an extra week off.

The school in Westlands Avenue, Sittingbourne , which is part of Swale Academies Trusts, has now had at least 13 cases of Covid-19 in the past couple of months.

A letter to parents yesterday told parents to continue sending their children to school if they are showing no symptoms.

It said: "We have been made aware that two year 8 students and three members of staff have tested positive for Covid-19.

"We know that you may find this concerning but we are continuing to monitor the situation and are working closely with Public Health England.

"Please be assured that for most people Covid-19 is a mild illness."

'It is important we put things in perspective - under 1% of the students have tested positive.'

It continued, advising people what to do if their child or a member of their household shows signs of the virus, including isolating for 10 days.

Last month executive head teacher Simon Cox explained how the school's rise in number of cases matched the increasing infection rates across Swale , which has been labelled as a "concern" by Kent County Council's health boss.

Today Mr Cox praised his school's plan to battle the virus.

He said: "New cases of Covid reflects both the general rise in cases in Swale and the fact that we are, by far and away, the largest school.

"It is important we put things in perspective - under 1% of the students have tested positive.

"We used the half term break to have a two week 'circuit breaker' for Years 7, 10 and 12. Year 10 and 12 have now made an extremely positive return and Year 7 will return on Monday, November 9. Early signs are that this strategy has been effective.

"However, we are in constant dialogue with the relevant authorities. If we feel the need to ask more groups of students to self-isolate, to protect other students and staff, we will do so without any hesitation.

"Students asked to stay at home are provided with online learning. Finally, I would like to pay tribute to our staff who are displaying immense resilience in an extremely precarious situation."

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