Hadleigh High School has closed for the remainder of the school year to due to Covid-19 cases and staff shortages.

The closure, confirmed to parents in a letter seen by this newspaper, comes after "pings" from the NHS Covid-19 app caused 14 members of staff to require to self-isolate, while two staff members have tested positive alongside six students.

The school remains open to vulnerable children and the children of keyworkers, while all other pupils will complete their remaining lessons from home via online learning for the final two days of term.

In the letter, headteacher Nicola Shingleton said the school is acting on advice from Public Health England.

She said the government agency has also recommended each of the more than 700 pupils test themselves for Covid-19 every day for a week to help minimise the spread of infection within the community.

The letter read: "I regret to inform you that following advice from Public Health England, it is necessary to close the school from today and move to online learning for all students.

"This is due to exceptionally high levels of staff absence caused by staff having to self-isolate as a result of being contacted by the NHS test and trace app and a number of positive cases within the school community.

"The school has already contacted individuals who have been in close contact with these positive cases.

"This situation will unfortunately remain in place for the remaining two days of term. We fully appreciate that this will cause significant inconvenience for many of you.

"However, this action is necessary for the safety of both staff and students, and to reduce the national rates of Covid-19 transmission."

The school's closure comes after a number of schools have requested pupils self-isolate in recent weeks, while "pings" from the NHS Covid-19 app has also caused havoc in industries such as the hospitality sector.

More than 2,000 school age children across Suffolk are understood to be self-isolating due to cases within their educational setting.

The measures have been labelled "hugely disruptive" by one Suffolk headteacher who fears it is having a negative effect on children's learning.