Updated; All school across the UK will close from Friday, the government has just announced this evening (March 18).

Earlier today, Frome College - the largest secondary in the town - announced phased closures.

It had said that students from Year 10 and Year 12 will not need to come to school tomorrow (March 19).

At the time the announcement said students in years 9, 11 and 13 to continue in school as normal.

But that has now been revised nationally and all schools across all of the UK will shut from Friday. The only exceptions will be the children of key NHS workers who will still be looked after.

In a letter to parents the principal wrote:

"Dear students, families and parents,

Following my previous three letters and recent advice from the Government and Public Health

England regarding the COVID-19 outbreak, I am writing to update you on the College's position.

"Advice on self-isolation has affected our staffing at College to the extent that we can only partially

open tomorrow, 19th March 2020. This means:

Year 10 will not be in college as from tomorrow

Year 12 will not be in college as from tomorrow

Year 9, 11 and 13 will continue in college as normal.

"The decision to close College to these year groups has been based on the fact that Years 11 and 13

have upcoming examinations and we need to ensure continuity of learning for them. Year 9 is our

youngest year group and therefore, to help families during this difficult time, I have ensured staffing

will cover these classes."

She writes on to say that families who receive free meals will be contacted separately.

She further writes: " I recognise that this will be inconvenient for families, but I ask for your support during these challenging circumstances."

Frome College has a total of over 1,100 students, but in recent days class sizes have been dropping as have the number of staff on site.