A SECONDARY school in Herefordshire has said coronavirus cases have been found, warning the situation could worsen "very rapidly".

Weobley High School said a small number of cases had been found, and while there was "no real evidence" of the virus spreading in the school, that could change.

Dean Williams, headteacher at the school near Leominster with around 500 pupils, wrote a letter to parents about the latest coronavirus situation and the new rules which would be put in place.

"You may be aware that there is now a significant increase in the number of positive Covid cases in schools both locally and nationally," Mr Williams said.

"There has also been a small number of positive cases within our school community, although there is no real evidence of in-school transmission at present.

"That said, the situation could change very rapidly.

"I am therefore keen to take a proactive approach to any potential outbreak and have been liaising with Public Health England to identify measures we can put in place at this point to limit any potential transmission in school."

He said pupils and staff would need to wear face masks in communal areas, as well as on school transport, and social distancing would need to be maintained "at all times".

Children should also continue to take two lateral flow tests a week and Mr Williams said this was "more important now than at any time".

He finished his letter by saying: "Thank you once again for your ongoing support and please rest assured that we are continuing to do all we can to ensure that the children can remain focussed on their learning within a reassuring and safe school environment."

On Friday, Herefordshire Council said more than 1,000 children were off school last week due to coronavirus.

Around half of maintained schools in the county have reported at least one positive coronavirus case, data for Wednesday, September 22 showed.

At those 48 schools there were 494 confirmed cases in pupils.

On top of that, there were a further 585 suspected cases.

It means 1,079 pupils in Herefordshire were off school on Wednesday due to coronavirus, according to the council's public health team.

Almeley Primary School and Kingstone High School are both closed due to the number of Covid cases found, and Hereford Academy, The Bishop of Hereford's Bluecoat School, Marlbrook Primary School, Sutton Primary Academy and Holmer CE Academy are among the schools to confirm cases.