Eton College has closed temporarily to stem a rising number of coronavirus cases among teachers and pupils, it was reported.
Simon Henderson, the school Head Master, wrote to parents saying "a large number of symptomatic boys and staff tested positive" for the virus, according to the Daily Mail.
Pupils will be taught remotely until the end of term in order to prevent the number of cases spiralling out of control, the paper reported. He did not specify the number of cases that had been confirmed within the college.
"'Having been largely Covid free since Long Leave, a number of symptomatic boys and staff have tested positive in the past few days. We are awaiting results on several others, with more scheduled to be tested," Mr Henderson wrote.
"Having taken medical advice, we believe there is a real danger that the number of cases could increase significantly over the weekend and into next week unless we take action."
The closure comes as mass testing is set to be rolled out in schools across the capital.
Mobile testing units will be dispatched to schools in the seven boroughs of London as well as parts of Essex and Kent in a bid to bring the spiralling number of cases among teenagers under control.
It comes amid growing concern over outbreaks in schools the week before the Christmas relaxation of rules where children are likely to be mixing with grandparents.
The move at Eton come amid a free-speech row at the £42,500-a-year school.
Will Knowland was sacked for gross misconduct after recording a lecture which questioned "current radical feminist orthodoxy” and then refusing to remove it from his YouTube channel.
The school’s appeal panel met on Tuesday and is due to deliver its verdict early next week. Eton has said the dismissal was "not a matter of free speech" but one of "internal discipline".
