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Secondary school pupils no longer advised to wear masks in class, Williamson confirms

Education secretary says lockdown easing measure will go ahead despite protests from unions and others
Secondary school pupils in England will no longer be advised to wear masks in classrooms, the education secretary has said, despite pleas by teaching unions and others for the guidance to remain in place.
Gavin Williamson confirmed reports the government was planning to water down its guidance around the wearing of masks at step 3 of its roadmap out of lockdown, which will be no earlier than 17 May.
Scientists, public health experts parents and teaching unions had written to him this week to warn that vaccination rates were not sufficient to fully mitigate the impact of transmission among children on infection rates in the community.But Williamson told the Daily Telegraph: “As infection rates continue to decline and our vaccination programme rolls out successfully, we plan to remove the requirement for face coverings in the classroom at step 3 of the roadmap.”
However, the government’s guidance will continue to recommend that secondary pupils should wear masks in corridors and other areas inside schools where social distancing is not practical.
Boris Johnson is expected to make the announcement as early as Monday, according to the newspaper.
Geoff Barton, the general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “What we want to see from the government is clarity in the guidance that is given to schools and colleges over this matter so that everyone knows where they stand and there aren’t grey areas left to negotiate. It’s important that it’s very clear what schools and colleges are required to do, and where they have discretion to make decisions based on their own contexts and risk assessments.”
The letter urging Williamson to keep the requirement for masks in place until at least 21 June had been signed by scientists and public health experts from the universities of Oxford, Cambridge, Exeter and UCL, among others. They joined forces with five unions representing teachers and other school staff and parents.
It said that after schools fully reopened in England on 8 March, the number of children testing positive for Covid-19 increased, so that by the start of the Easter break the prevalence of infection was higher in school-age children than in any other age group.
Figures published by the Office for National Statistics on Tuesday showed school infection rates were down, with about 0.33% of pupils and 0.32% of staff in secondary schools testing positive for Covid-19 from mid to late March, compared with 1.22% and 1.64% in December.
Dr Deepti Gurdasani, a clinical epidemiologist and senior lecturer in machine learning at Queen Mary University of London, who was among the signatories to the letter, reacted to news of plans to dilute the rules on masks by warning about the spread of a Covid-19 variant from India.
“So the govt appears to be scrapping masks in secondaries – while delaying releasing information about B.1.617.2, which has been spreading in secondary schools + outbreak involving 100 children in Derbyshire … Data not dates?” she tweeted.
A Department for Education spokesperson said virus transmission in schools was continuing to drop and that new data showed a significant decrease in students and staff testing positive. Positive cases were isolating quickly thanks to a twice-weekly rapid testing programme, it said.
source: Richard Adams
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BENEFIT Sponsors BuildHer...
- April 23, 2025
BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, has sponsored the BuildHer CityHack 2025 Hackathon, a two-day event spearheaded by the College of Engineering and Technology at the Royal University for Women (RUW).
Aimed at secondary school students, the event brought together a distinguished group of academic professionals and technology experts to mentor and inspire young participants.
More than 100 high school students from across the Kingdom of Bahrain took part in the hackathon, which featured an intensive programme of training workshops and hands-on sessions. These activities were tailored to enhance participants’ critical thinking, collaborative problem-solving, and team-building capabilities, while also encouraging the development of practical and sustainable solutions to contemporary challenges using modern technological tools.
BENEFIT’s Chief Executive Mr. Abdulwahed AlJanahi, commented: “Our support for this educational hackathon reflects our long-term strategic vision to nurture the talents of emerging national youth and empower the next generation of accomplished female leaders in technology. By fostering creativity and innovation, we aim to contribute meaningfully to Bahrain’s comprehensive development goals and align with the aspirations outlined in the Kingdom’s Vision 2030—an ambition in which BENEFIT plays a central role.”
Professor Riyadh Yousif Hamzah, President of the Royal University for Women, commented: “This initiative reflects our commitment to advancing women in STEM fields. We're cultivating a generation of creative, solution-driven female leaders who will drive national development. Our partnership with BENEFIT exemplifies the powerful synergy between academia and private sector in supporting educational innovation.”
Hanan Abdulla Hasan, Senior Manager, PR & Communication at BENEFIT, said: “We are honoured to collaborate with RUW in supporting this remarkable technology-focused event. It highlights our commitment to social responsibility, and our ongoing efforts to enhance the digital and innovation capabilities of young Bahraini women and foster their ability to harness technological tools in the service of a smarter, more sustainable future.”
For his part, Dr. Humam ElAgha, Acting Dean of the College of Engineering and Technology at the University, said: “BuildHer CityHack 2025 embodies our hands-on approach to education. By tackling real-world problems through creative thinking and sustainable solutions, we're preparing women to thrive in the knowledge economy – a cornerstone of the University's vision.”
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