School closed by sickness bug

A DEVON primary school was forced to close its doors yesterday and cancel lessons after more than two-thirds of its students fell ill with a mystery stomach bug.

So far, 54 out of a total 74 pupils at Cockwood Primary School, between Dawlish and Exeter, have been struck down by the illness. The children are aged between four and 11.

Youngsters reported suffering from stomach complaints early yesterday morning.

Symptoms included diarrhoea and sickness, similar to the Norovirus.

However, school officials would only describe the outbreak at the site as a "sickness bug".

Staff were also affected with symptoms with two out of the three full-time members of staff being laid low with the infection.

Four pupils at the school were also confirmed to have contracted swine flu.

School premises will remain closed today and tomorrow before reopening as usual on Thursday morning.

In the meantime, a team of specialist cleaners will be on hand at the site to carry out a deep clean and disinfection operation before youngsters return to lessons.

A spokesman for the school said the outbreak was not serious.

She added: "We think it could be a sickness bug, but it is nothing too serious for the children.

"We decided it was necessary to close the school for a few days to give the whole building a thorough clean."

Many children who were in a position to be picked up by parents, carers or guardians were sent home yesterday lunchtime by members of staff to recuperate.

However, because not all of the children were able to be picked up until the end of the school day, a section of the school had to stay open until the usual going home time.

A spokesman for Devon County Council confirmed the number of pupils struck down by the illness and said school leaders took the step of closing the site in a bid to prevent further spread of the infection.

He said: "The decision to close the school would have been taken by the chair of governors and the headteacher, then the council is informed.

"We have been told the school will reopen as normal on Thursday."

The spokesman added that cleaning staff would spend the next 48 hours carrying out a "considerable" and "much more intensive" deep clean to clear any bugs which are still lurking in the building. One woman, who asked not to be named, told the Western Morning News that her granddaughter was a pupil at the school but had been kept home yesterday as she was coming down with sickness.

She said: "I believe there have been a lot of children who have come down with something in the last few days."

Another resident, who also asked not to be named, said: "There's been a bit of talk in the village that everyone's dropping like flies with this bug. We're only a small village so this kind of thing spreads."