The Omicron variant has resulted in an increasing number of staff and pupil absences from Hitchin secondary schools, Nub News understands.

As the new strain of Covid sweeps through the country including our region, schools are battling against high levels of the deadly infection, as the end of the autumn term nears.

Despite protective measures introduced including better ventilation and stricter isolation guidelines such as the reintroduction of facemarks, the challenges of Omicron continues to dog Hitchin Boys' School and The Priory.

Such are the issues, HBS - which was recently awarded 'outstanding status by Ofsted - is once again considering remote learning.

In a letter sent to parents seen by Nub News, HBS head teacher Fergal Moane said: "We currently have very high numbers of staff absences due to Covid infections or caring for young children that have contracted the virus.

"Supply teachers are very scarce at the moment and in high demand, so we may not be able to cover absence to the same high standards as usual.

"We are monitoring the situation daily and are striving to keep the school open for all for in-person education, but this is an early warning that we may have to seek a move to remote learning if we cannot operate the school safely."

Mr Moane, whose transparency and honesty during the pandemic has earned plaudits from parents, went on to thank parents for their support and patience with the 'rapidly changing guidance from government in the face of the evolving pandemic'.

He also included the 1849 quote from French critic and writer, Alphonse Karr, "Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose (The more things change, the more they remain the same)" adding wryly: "If this is all feeling familiar, I do sympathise with the frustrations of students, parents and staff. I am having to seek new sources for pithy quotations as they are being used up rapidly."

Meanwhile, over at the Priory School on Bedford Road, the latest figures released on Friday [December 10] show that cases have been rising slowly.

In a letter sent to parents and seen my Nub News, head Geriant Edwards explained: "We currently have 30 students off school and six members of staff.

"As part of updated government guidance and our own outbreak management plan, students have been wearing face coverings in communal areas in school since Monday, November 8."

Read Nub News for the latest on Covid in our area.