Parents told of their fear and confusion last night after the Government threw school reopenings into chaos.
Pupils now face a postcode lottery as primaries in some areas stay shut from Monday – affecting a million children – while schools a few hundred yards away open their doors.
In England’s secondaries, those in Years 11 and 13 due to sit exams go back a week later than planned, from January 11.
The rest are expected to return from January 18. And heads face the huge task of organising mass testing before pupils can go back.
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said: “You’re going to see over 85% of primary schools returning on Monday, you’re going to be seeing exam cohorts going back right across the country on January 11.”
Asked if he can guarantee that, he said: “We are absolutely confident that is going to happen.”
He was also “absolutely confident” an extra week was enough time for secondaries to set up the major testing regimes.
But Shadow Education Secretary Kate Green said: “Gavin Williamson’s cavalier approach has put the life chances of a generation at risk. With just four days to go, parents and pupils are confused about the start of term, with dedicated staff again left to pick up the pieces.”
The row erupted as the pandemic death toll hit 73,512 – up 964. There were 55,892 more cases and 2,433 hospital admissions.
On Monday, primaries in parts of London, Essex, Kent, East Sussex, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire will stay shut to all but vulnerable kids and those of key workers.
One mum posted a map, writing: “It has been deemed too dangerous to open primary schools in the borough in blue. My children attend the primary <100m from the boundary. Are there any scientists here who can reassure me that makes sense?”
Another parent said a school in New Malden, South West London, that two of her children attend will reopen but one a mile away in a different borough, where her third child goes, is shut.
She said: “It’s ridiculous. Schools can’t guarantee Covid safety for themselves, let alone kids and parents.”
In Haringey, North London, primaries have not been ordered to stay shut despite, the council said, “infection rates higher than many boroughs on the list”.
Rebelling against Whitehall, the town hall said primaries should only open “to the children of key workers and vulnerable children – and we will support schools in this”.
The Department for Education insisted plans were drawn up using the latest data. But Government advisers said last week closures would help curb the spread of the disease.
Minutes of a December 22 meeting of Sage experts released yesterday say the “R” rate “would be lower with schools closed, with closure of secondary schools likely to have a greater effect than [primaries]”.
The Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Behaviours, a Sage offshoot, also said forcing kids to wear masks in more parts of schools could help.
National Education Union joint general secretary Kevin Courtney said: “Sage has told the Government to close schools and the Government has decided to ignore its advice.”
