Hundreds of pupils across Greater Manchester are finishing the school term at home amid rising Covid cases among children and staff.
The Manchester Evening News reported yesterday how students at Rochdale Sixth Form College and nearby Falinge Park High - which had both had a single case of Omicron - had been advised by public health officials to move to remote learning until the end of term.
Now other settings are following suit.
Read more: Headteachers and unions call for 'Plan B' in schools amid fears of mass disruption in Omicron surge
Mersey Drive Community Primary in Whitefield, Bury, has closed early, as well as Oldham Sixth Form - with both stating staff absences as the reason for the move.
In a message to Mersey Drive parents on Wednesday morning, the school said: "Urgent school closed. We have reached the point where we are unable to maintain safe staffing levels. After consultation with the local authority we have reluctantly had to make the decision to close early for Christmas in order to keep everyone safe."
A parent from the school told the Manchester Evening News there had been a large number of positive cases in her daughter's class where the virus had 'gone round like wild fire', so she'd decided to keep her home anyway to prevent her getting sick.
Has your child's school warned of disruption after Christmas? Is the new variant having an impact on your child's final week in school? Let us know in the comments here.
A note from Oldham Sixth Form told parents: "We have reluctantly taken the decision to move lessons and tutorials online from tomorrow Wednesday 15th December to Friday 17th December, this will be following your usual timetable.
"This is for health and safety reasons due to high levels of unavoidable staff absence and we have worked closely with colleagues in the Department for Education and in public health."
Yesterday we reported how headteachers and unions are calling for a 'Plan B' in schools amid fears of mass disruption from the Omicron surge.
Health secretary Sajid Javid has already said he can't guarantee that schools will not close again due to the pandemic.
