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The reopening of secondary schools and universities in England after Christmas will not be delayed, but will be staggered, the government said.
Those studying for the exams are expected to return normally in January, but most students will start the year online, to allow mass testing to roll out at the beginning of the trimester.
Primary school pupils will return to school normally in January, along with vulnerable pupils and the children of key workers.
Some students will start the term online.
Two rapid tests will be offered to students attending classes, three days apart, with positive results confirmed by a laboratory PCR test.
Those with a positive test will need to self-isolate in accordance with existing regulations.
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said: “This targeted round of testing will clamp down on the virus as students return from Christmas break and help stop the spread of COVID-19 in the community in general.
“Based on the fantastic actions that schools and universities have already taken to be as safe as possible, this additional test will detect those who have the virus but are not showing symptoms to help schools and universities maintain control of the virus during the spring period.
“The new program of daily tests for close contacts of those with confirmed cases of the virus will also mean that we will be able to keep more students in school, the best place for their development and well-being. During the rest of the academic year and in the period leading up to testing, it will remain a national priority to keep education open to all, while keeping schools as safe as possible. “
Speaking about the plans, Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer told reporters: “I think the schools are going to be really frustrated because this has come at the last minute.”
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Coronavirus: Should Schools Stay Open?
“What we needed for the schools was a plan that started last September and what we’ve had is one problem after another throughout the Christmas period.”
Teachers unions also reacted to the news, with Dr. Mary Bousted of the National Education Union (NEU) saying the announcement “demonstrates ministerial panic rather than rational and responsible action in response to exponentially increasing rates of COVID infection. -19 among secondary school students “. .
He added: “We wrote to Gavin Williamson today with a series of urgent questions about today’s announcement.”
It comes after Susan Acland-Hood, permanent secretary of the Department of Education (DfE), previously told the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) that the DfE I did not have “Any plan to extend the Christmas holidays.”
PAC President Meg Hillier said it was “ridiculous” that in the last days of the quarter, many parents and principals did not know what would happen when the schools return in a few weeks.
A small previously published study suggested that more than half of the English schools surveyed had at least one COVID-19 infection in the past month, with only 1.24% of students testing positive and 1.29% of staff.
Dr Shamez Ladhani, a consultant epidemiologist for Public Health England who led the survey of 105 schools, said early findings from the small study suggest that the ratio of positive tests among staff to students reflects the general population.
