Wells Cathedral School has put a number of contingency plans in place in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

Many of the school's international pupils will be staying in the UK during the Easter break instead of returning home, and the school is making suitable arrangements to accommodate pupils who cannot get home, including possibly keeping boarding houses open.

Also, in line with advice, all of the school's planned international trips over the Easter break have been cancelled.

In a statement, the school said: "In the light of the ongoing and developing situation regarding the Covid-19 (coronavirus), the school is monitoring the situation regularly and taking a dynamic approach to this complex and changing picture, following the advice of the UK Government, Public Health England (PHE) in conjunction with the British Boarding Schools' Association (BSA), to ensure the health of our whole community, including pupils and staff.

"The wellbeing of our whole school community is of the utmost importance at this time. Houseparents, tutors and the school's medical support staff are all available to talk with pupils and to try and allay any anxiety or worries they may have - pupils have been informed that they should not hesitate to talk with any of these staff if they wish.

"Any day pupil with these symptoms is required to remain at home for seven days from the onset of their symptoms and should not come into school.

"Any UK boarder who thinks they have these symptoms is being asked to report to our medical centre, St Andrew's Lodge, to be assessed.

"If our medical staff consider them to have the symptoms which require them to self-isolate, they will contact parents and request that they return home for seven days as soon as possible.

"Any international boarder who thinks they have these symptoms is being asked to report to our medical centre to be assessed.

"If our medical staff consider them to have the symptoms which require them to self-isolate, we will arrange that they are isolated for seven days in school accommodation which is separate from their usual boarding house and other pupils.

"We have established that no members of the school community have recently visited China, South Korea or Italy and returned to the school.

"Due to the ongoing challenges to travel arrangements and in line with advice from Public Health England, the school is currently putting together plans for many of its international pupils to remain in the UK for the Easter recess.

"We have advised pupils not to travel to any of the countries and areas listed above, and will be making suitable arrangements to accommodate pupils who cannot get home over the Easter break, including possibly keeping open boarding houses.

"All the families of our pupils from affected countries are co-operating with us, for which the school is especially grateful at what is, understandably, a difficult and anxious time for them.

"Some families have taken the decision for their children to return home to international destinations, especially given the recent change to travel advice.

"We are liaising with them about how to manage the return of their children to the school, potentially for the start of the new term after Easter, and will be ensuring that all pupils meet the latest advice in terms of possible isolation away from Wells before they return to school."