Infection rates among primary and secondary school children have continued to rise in the last week of term, according to new data.

And secondary school students continue to show the highest percentage of positive cases, figures released today from the Office for National Statistics reveal.

They also show that primaries have seen a near doubling of their pupils’ infection rates in a fortnight.

Coronavirus: Rise in infection rates in schools

Between 11 December and 18 December, positivity rates went up from 1.76 per cent to 2.02 per cent for children aged 2 to school Year 6 (age 10) in England. They had risen from 1.09 to 1.76 per cent the previous week.

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The percentage of children between Year 7 and Year 11 testing positive for Covid rose from 2.72 per cent to 2.98 per cent between 11 and 18 December, up from 2.13 per cent on 4 December.

The data shows that infections rose among most age groups over the past week, except for those aged 70-plus and for those between the ages of 35 and 49.

The steepest rise - from 1.44 per cent to 2.43 per cent - was for those aged between school Year 12 and 24 years old. But Years 7 to 11 remained the highest infection rate.