Ramsey Grammar School: Pupils to study at home due to staff illness

Year 9 pupils have been told to learn from home on Friday and Monday

All Year 9 students at a high school in the north of the Isle of Man have been told to stay at home until Tuesday due to staff being off sick.

Head teacher at Ramsey Grammar School, Sarah Findlater, said the school currently had a "significant and rising number of staff absent".

The shortages were "making the normal running of the school difficult", she added.

It is the second high school to ask pupils to learn from home this week.

Students in Year 9 and 10 at Ballekermeen High School were also told not to attend face-to-face lessons for three days, as 20% of its teachers were off due to Covid isolation and other winter illnesses.

Some pupils at both schools were last required to learn from home in January.

Coronavirus cases on the island have seen a surge in recent weeks, and there are currently more than 1,700 active cases.

In a letter to parents, Ms Findlater said staff would inform the 158 pupils affected of the work that should be completed at home on Friday and Monday "where possible", but that would not happen in all cases "with such a significant amount of the teaching workforce absent".

In those instances, online provision could be accessed, she said.