Headteachers are concerned about the low take-up of Covid vaccinations among secondary students and are calling for more measures to prevent further disruption to education in schools.

Less than a third of secondary students aged 12 to 15 have been vaccinated against Covid in parts of England.

The latest figures show that the percentage of people testing positive for Covid-19 was highest among Year 7 to Year 11 students at 3.7 per cent in the week up to last Friday (20 November). This has been the trend since schools reopened in September, causing concerns for heads, who say schools cannot rely on vaccinations to avoid school disruption.

Areas that have already been hit with the highest levels of disruption to learning as a result of Covid are also among those with the lowest pupil vaccination rates.

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For example, in Haringey, North London, where attendance averaged 60 per cent in the past academic year, just 27 per cent of 12- to 15-year-olds had been vaccinated as of Monday.

Low Covid vaccination rates among school students

The figures show that it could take up until February 2022 to vaccinate all 12- to 15-year-olds, despite the government originally aiming for October half-term this year.

Barking and Dagenham, in East London, had the lowest take-up among 12- to 15-year-olds - just 17 per cent had been vaccinated as of last Monday.

There are 46 local authorities where less than a third of secondary students have been vaccinated - including areas that have already seen some of the highest levels of educational disruption due to Covid.

In other areas such as West Berkshire and Wokingham, around 60 per cent of 12- to 15-year-olds have been jabbed.

Julie McCulloch, director of policy at the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “We are very concerned about the continuing disruption to education being caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The vaccination programme for 12- to 15-year-olds is an important measure in alleviating this disruption and keeping children in the classroom.

“There have been delays in the rollout of the vaccine programme to schools. Pupils who catch Covid cannot then have the vaccine for a period of time, and some families are unsure about the benefits because of mixed messages from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation and chief medical officers earlier in the year and because of misinformation from anti-vaccination campaigners.

“All of this makes it important to keep making it clear that this is a hugely important programme both in terms of protecting young people from Covid and reducing the educational disruption which has taken place over the course of the past 20 months.

“However, no vaccination programme achieves anything like universal coverage. It is also possible for individuals to contract coronavirus even after they have been vaccinated.

“This is why coronavirus vaccinations are only one of a number of safety measures being used to reduce the risk of transmission in schools and colleges. Others include ventilation and encouraging eligible students to conduct twice-weekly home testing, as well as other safeguards as advised by local directors of public health under the contingency framework and according to local circumstances.

“The government could - and should - do more to support this work, particularly in respect of promoting the use of home-testing, and providing government-funded air cleaning units to all schools and colleges that require this equipment, rather than directing them to an ‘online marketplace’, as it is currently planning to do.

“All of this is not going to go away any time soon. It is clear that the impact of the pandemic will be with us for some time to come, and that various mitigation measures will continue to be needed to keep as many children in school as possible in the weeks and months ahead.”

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union the NAHT, said: “It is important that other measures are also pursued to control Covid in schools, including help to improve key mitigations such as better ventilation, reconsidering the current guidance on close contact isolation, and an effective track and trace systems to ensure cases are identified early.”

Last month, education secretary Nadhim Zahawi wrote a letter, alongside health secretary Sajid Javid, calling for parents to “encourage” secondary-age students to get vaccinated. He said in the letter that it was a government priority to keep students in classrooms.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “Our vaccination programme continues to be a phenomenal success and children can get vaccinated at school or use the national booking system - already over 40 per cent of 12- to 15-year-olds have been vaccinated.

“Vaccines save lives and we are doing everything we can to keep encouraging more people to come forward - our booster programme has made huge progress with over 15 million doses administered so far across the UK.”

A Department for Education spokesperson said:  “Our priority is protecting face-to-face education, and vaccinations and regular testing are the best defence against the virus. That is why we have made it possible for 12- to 15-year-olds to get their jab at vaccination centres across the country, and are supporting schools to encourage their pupils to keep testing.

“We are also rolling out 300,000 carbon dioxide monitors to help schools keep their classrooms well ventilated, and if there are particularly high Covid case rates in schools or colleges in their local areas, directors of public health are able to advise the reintroduction of temporary additional protective measures.

“Our regional school commissioners continue to work closely with school trusts and local authorities to help them prioritise face-to-face education.”