Sheldon school in Chippenham will be closed from tomorrow (Wednesday) as 40 per cent of its staff are self-isolating.

The school will be shut due to having 39 teachers and 14-15 support staff off as more people self-isolate because of the coronavirus.

Head of Sheldon school, Neil Spurdell said: “We never take shutting a school lightly and we’re doing so because we simply don’t have staff coverage.

“We looked at other models like partial closure, but that wouldn’t have been adequate for the students.

“We already know that a number of parents were anxious and despite what we have done, following the gov guidelines, were rather hoping this would happen.”

Mr Spurdell, who said that 150 pupils were out of school today, said that he was ‘disappoint in the government for not taking a stand’.

He said: “I don’t know why it's okay for everywhere else in the country to close when schools have been asked to stay open when they have massive gatherings of young people in one place.

“I’ve been pleased with the initial email response from parents, they’ve been very positive and supportive."

The school will continue to communicate with parents on what work they should be doing from home, especially those looking to take exams in the summer.