One in 20 pupils in England were absent because of coronavirus on just one day last week, as the number of pupils off school with a confirmed case doubled in a fortnight.
A record number of teachers and school leaders were also absent on the same day - Thursday, January 20 - according to the latest figures from the Department of Education.
They estimates that 5.1 per cent of all pupils were off school because of Covid on January 20, up from 3.9 per cent two weeks earlier on January 6.
