Both Ashby School and Ivanhoe College will welcome pupils back tomorrow (Thursday) for the new term.

And Ashby School headmaster Geoff Staniforth says that the wearing of face masks will be mandatory for students and staff when not in the classroom.

Ashby School says it looks forward to welcoming back Year 10 students on tomorrow, Years 11 and 13 on Friday, 28 August, and Year 12 on Tuesday 1 September.

Ivanhoe College says Year 7 pupils will return tomorrow, Year 8 will return on Friday 28 August and Year 9 return on Tuesday, 1 September.

In a letter to parents, Mr Staniforth explained: "You will be aware from the news that Scotland is making it mandatory for students to wear face masks when not in lessons. It was also announced last night that this policy will be in place in England for areas in lockdown and that it will be at the discretion of other schools to decide if it is appropriate to implement this in their setting.

"Ashby is in a fairly unique position due to it still being an upper school. Like most secondary schools, we are operating year group bubbles, as this is the only way to deliver the KS4 and KS5 curriculum effectively.

"For most schools, the year group bubble will be between 100-200 students. At Ashby, our year group bubbles are considerably larger than this.

"Although the risk to the students is low, we are mindful that they can transmit an infection to their wider family.

"Due to this, we have made the decision that the wearing of face masks will be mandatory for students and staff when not in the classroom.

"They will need to apply their mask when moving around the corridors or at break and lunch where they are likely to encounter more people.

"In the dining facilities, they can remove their mask once they have their food and are sat down, ready to eat."

"If your child travels on a Roberts bus to school, the wearing of a mask is mandatory.

"The letter you received from the bus company suggested this may not be the case but that was a generic letter sent to all year groups and currently younger students do not need to wear a mask.

"I have also arranged with Roberts that the students will be split on the bus as much as possible.

"Year 10 and Year 13 students will be on the lower deck with the Year 13 students at the front. Year 11 and Year 12 students will be on the upper deck with the Year 12 students at the front.

"I hope this action reassures you that we are doing everything we can to keep everyone safe while maintaining as normal a school experience as possible."

The Ivanhoe College website says of its return to school dates: "This will allow us to transition all year groups back more effectively.

"However, we are developing contingency plans to sub-divide year groups into "bubbles" in the event of continued need for social distancing measures in AugustSeptember.

"We will continue to keep you updated about all eventualities as the national picture on Covid develops."

Prime Minister Boris Johnson was in North West Leicestershire today (Thursday) and addressed students at Castle Rock School in Coalville.

North West Leicestershire MP Andrew Bridgen tweeted a photo of the Prime Minister speaking to students at the Meadow Lane school.

Mr Bridgen said: "Delighted to welcome the Prime Minister to North West Leicestershire today to visit Castle Rock School.

"He got his usual great reception in the area and saw for himself the great work our schools have done to get kids back in a Covid safe environment."

Castle Rock High School is a mixed gender academy for students aged between 11-14 years of age.

Mr Bridgen later added he was delighted to see the Prime Minister speak to pupils about returning to school and congratulate the staff for getting children back in a Covid safe environment.

"As Leicestershire schools open ahead of the rest of the Country, the Prime Minister wished to see for himself the steps that have been taken by the school in following the Government guidance and putting in place safeguards to enable parents to return children to school with confidence," he said.

During his visit the Prime Minister met with staff and toured the school speaking to pupils.

Mr Bridgen added: "I am delighted that the Prime Minister chose North West Leicestershire to see the pupils returning to school.

"Our district has the lowest new infection rate of Covid 19 in the County of Leicestershire and with this, parents can have confidence that it is safe for their children to return to school with the guidelines set out by the Government.

"I believe the Prime Minister enjoyed his visit to North West Leicestershire, speaking to the pupils of the school and asking their views of their future and feelings as school returns.

"He was pleased to hear that amongst the fears they had, the risk of Covid was not one of them."

Mail Online said the Prime Minister apologised for A-Level and GCSE exam results affected by a 'mutant algorithm' that forced an embarrassing Government U-turn last week.

He told the students: 'From now on, from getting back into school, the hours and days and weeks of this new term, you will experience things with an intensity and clarity, believe me, that is seldom repeated in your lives.

"You'll remember these days and weeks and months, you really really will.

"And when you have been struggling with something in the classroom or whatever, some concept that you cannot get, like the supine stem of confetti or nuclear fusion or is Harry Potter sexist? Answer: no, by the way. Is it politically acceptable to sing Rule Britannia? Yes ...

"When you are struggling with complex questions, or something that you are worried about, somebody very probably a teacher, a brilliant teacher, will say something and a light will go on, the clouds will lift and you will never, ever forget that moment.

"That moment is absolutely irreplaceable. It is invaluable and it can only happen in school."

LBC reported: "Boris Johnson has urged pupils to return to school next week. The Prime Minister explained the Government's U-turn on face coverings during a trip to Castle Rock High in Coalville, Leicestershire."