Schools hit by flu bug

Student absences at Bexhill High School are double the usual for the time of year, with 12 teachers and 11 other members of staff also missing on Wednesday.

Head teacher Mike Conn told the Observer the school would have to close if more than 20 teachers were to go off sick, but with half - term starting next week the situation was "unlikely".

St Richard's Catholic College also confirmed it had more cases of illness than normal.

Schools across the area have been affected.

At Claverham, in Battle, more than 300 students have been recorded absent with illness.

Despite not reaching those proportions, the number of children off sick at the High School is unusually high.

Mr Conn said: "It's like we have been hit with a sledgehammer. We have got people here holding on by the skin of their teeth with illness.

"I am concerned about people coming in during the day because this isn't just a cold and it's highly contagious. People have literally been dropping down.

"If it got much worse then we would have to close the school. We are without 12 staff at the moment, if we lost 20 staff we wouldn't be able to cover the curriculum.

The only saving grace is that it's half-term next week and we are just holding on until then. What we need is a cold snap to get rid of this.

"We have got quite a lot off sick, but it's the staff who have been so tremendous and who are carrying on. They are so good and reliably coming in because they know they have got kids taking GCSE's."

A spokesman for St Richard's, speaking on behalf of principal Tony Campbell, said that absences were "slightly above normal for this time of year" but were nothing to be alarmed about.

"In no way are they causing concern or epidemic. It's a week before half term and we believe parents are playing it safe and keeping them home for a bit."