Teign School

Teign School
Location
Kingsteignton, Devon, TQ12 3JG
England
Information
School type Academy
Established 1936
Status Active
Administrator Mr Kingsley Matthews[1]
Principal Mr Mark Woodlock
Gender Co-Ed
Number of students 1204
Classes Years 7 - 13
Hours in school day 5 lesson hours
Houses Eagles, Sharks, Tigers, Wolves
Colour(s) Blue
Website

Teign School is an 1118 academy school located in Kingsteignton, a small town to the north of Newton Abbot. The original 1936 building has been expanded upon substantially and numerous additional buildings have been constructed within the grounds. The school has entry level at Year 7. It has nearly 1200 students in Year 711 and 190 in post 16.[2] The school also has a sixth form centre. In 2004 it was awarded specialist Science status[3] by the Specialist Schools Trust.

Houses

The student body is divided into four houses, represented by different animal names. Each student is sorted into one of these houses upon entry into the school. The four houses are named after four animals and are:

The houses compete against each other in academic and sporting disciplines, each contributing towards house points. The house with maximum points is declared the House of the Year and is presented with medals for everyone inside the winning house.[4]

Blocks

The school has eight blocks, each managing different subjects.

Tuberculosis Outbreak

On March 25, 2015, the headteacher Mark Woodlock sent a letter to students and parents explaining that 'a student in Year 10 at Teign School has been diagnosed with Tuberculosis (TB).'[5] The headteacher informed parents and students that the school had contacted Public Health England and the relevant action would be taken to ensure students were safe.

The letter went on to explain that two former Teign School pupils (in Year 11 during the 2013/14 academic year) had also been infected and the school would be screening Year 10 and 12 pupils, along with teachers, to check that TB bacteria had not been spread.

The letter assured parents that the risk was low and Dr Sarah Harrison (deputy director at PHE in Devon, Cornwall and Somerset) said that the illness was 'difficult to catch'.[6] Despite this, 94 of the 300 pupils and staff came back with a positive result.[7]

It was announced on Friday 22 May that all Teign School students and staff would be screened after the result was 'higher than expected'. The students which are known to have the illness are being treated at Torbay Hospital.

Many students are currently undergoing treatment and are said to have a latent, non-infectious Tuberculosis which can be treated with a three to six-month course of antibiotics. Teign School are keen to reassure parents that the risk is low and the disease is treatable.

On 15 September 2015, Public Health England and the school's headteacher Mark Woodlock released information on the matter.

Mark Woodlock said the incident had caused a 'degree of anxiety', whilst Public Health England, especially Dr Sarah Harrison, have come under attack from parents and the media for not releasing official figures of cases. The letter published says 'nearly 200' cases with 'less than 10' of these becoming active Tuberculosis. These figures came under heavy criticism from parents for being vague and uncertain. The letter did, however, confirm that testing had finished and that students are now at no more risk than any other member of the general public.

The story has caught the attention of many local and national newspapers, including the BBC[8] and the Daily Mail.[9]

A meeting with the school's headteacher and Public Health England was said to take place in September to discuss the matter further. However, there has since been no information about this.

It is likely to remain unclear exactly how many students and staff have been infected, although 'nearly 200' is the official stated amount.

Public Health England and Mr Mark Woodlock have stressed that if any current or former student experiences any symptoms of tuberculosis, immediate medical advice should be sought. This includes a dry or mucousy cough lasting three weeks or more, rapid and unexplained weight loss, night sweats, chest pain whilst breathing, fatigue, blood in sputum and chills. Young children, the elderly, those who are immunocompromised, those who are from a high risk background or have recently visited a country where TB rates are high and those that have had previous or current lung or respiratory diseases are also at very high risk and should immediately seek medical advice if they experience any symptoms of tuberculosis.

The treatment of staff and pupils will continue for the foreseeable future, and for those who have been affected with the active form of the disease will continue treatment for many more months.

It was confirmed that the BBC will be broadcasting a special episode of Inside Out South West on the 'biggest school outbreak of TB in the last 20 years' . This will be broadcast on BBC One South West on October 19 2015.

The school's headteacher has provided statements to the local media about the issue but is likely to not give an interview.

References

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Wednesday, November 04, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.