More than one in four secondary school pupils have now tested positive for Covid at least twice, new data shows.
The Office for National Statistics figures published today also show that primary and secondary school pupils were more likely to test positive for Covid in the spring term of this year - when the Omicron variant hit - than in the autumn of 2021.
It also shows pupils were less likely to feel ill with Covid in the spring of this year compared with the first term of the academic year.
By 31 March 2022, 26 per cent of secondary school pupils had two or more positive tests compared with only 4 per cent of primary school pupils.
And more than one in four secondary school pupils tested positive for coronavirus in the spring term, according to data published today.
It shows that 27 per cent of secondary school pupils tested positive for Covid in the spring term of 2022 compared with 21.5 per cent in the autumn term of 2021.
At primary school, 16.1 per cent of pupils tested positive for Covid in the spring compared with 14.2 per cent in the autumn.
The data also shows that in the spring term, pupils living in more deprived areas were less likely to have a positive coronavirus test.
In the most deprived areas, 11.8 per cent of primary pupils and 21.6 per cent of secondary-age pupils had a positive test, compared with 21.5 per cent of primary pupils and 33.2 per cent of secondary-age pupils in the least deprived.
The ONS data broken down by pupil ethnicity shows that white British pupils had the largest proportion of their population with a positive test in both the spring 2022 term (18.6 per cent for primary age and 29.8 per cent for secondary age) and in the autumn 2021 term (16.8 per cent and 25.1 per cent respectively).
It also found that fewer pupils reported symptoms in the spring term than in the autumn, as the Omicron wave hit schools at the start of this year.
Data shows that 29.5 per cent of secondary school pupils and 34.5 per cent of primary school pupils testing positive reported symptoms, compared with 50.3 per cent and 52.1 per cent respectively in the autumn 2021 term.
Alison Judd, lead analyst, health surveillance and insights division at the ONS, said: “Today’s data, produced by linking up various data sources, reveal more about Covid-19 cases in schools this academic year and the factors that affect the likelihood of having a positive Covid-19 test.
“We’ve seen an increase in the likelihood of positive tests among both primary and secondary pupils, in line with the current picture across the UK.”
Dr Shamez Ladhani, consultant paediatrician at the UK Health Security Agency, said: “These findings offer valuable insights into how testing and reporting behaviour is affected by ethnicity and social deprivation and will deepen our understanding of how to address future health crises.
“Addressing inequality is essential to managing future outbreaks and ensuring the offer of vaccination is taken up by those who are most at risk.”
