A CUMBRIAN secondary school has announced that from today it will be requiring both staff and students to wear face coverings when moving around the premises.

Cockermouth School announced last week that from today, both students and adults will be expected to wear a face covering when moving through the school.

This new measure has been added to a list of existing measures already in place at the west Cumbrian secondary school in order to minimise the risk of spreading any potential Covid-19 infection brought onto the site.

These include limiting the interaction of students to within "geographical year group bubbles", putting in place staggered beginnings and ends to lessons, and having staff escort students to and from their "bubble" locations.

In a letter sent to parents and carers last Wednesday, the school's headteacher Dr Rob Petrie and head of school Richard King explained that movement through the school's corridors had been identified as potentially an issue, highlighting that it was impossible to "completely remove every occasion when small numbers of staff and students pass, albeit briefly."

With a rising number of Covid-19 cases also being reported nationally, Dr Petrie and Mr King explained that they felt the introduction of a new measure requiring face coverings while moving from place to place in the school was necessary to further reduce potential risks.

The only exemptions to this new requirement will be when students are in their "designated outside year group area at break and lunchtime", and "when eating in the dining hall, where year group bubbles will be maintained."

It will "remain the choice of the individual student or member of staff" as to whether they wear a face covering while inside the classroom.

"The Government guidelines for schools do not recommend universal use of face coverings," Dr Petrie and Mr King go on to explain in their letter to parents and carers.

"However, we are using the discretion that we have to make this change, due to the specific layout of our school.

"We also hope that this additional measure will provide increased confidence to staff and students."

The letter adds that no student will be excluded from education on the grounds that they are not wearing a face covering.