A QUARRY Bank headteacher has promised pupils "the biggest school party that Dudley has ever seen" when they return to the classroom when the country wins the battle against coronavirus.

Alex Rawlings issued a heartfelt letter to pupils at Quarry Bank Primary School telling them how much they are missed already and how proud he is of them.

He said: "It has been strange at times – having to wash your hands about 50 times per day must have felt a bit odd! Nevertheless, you did as you were asked without any grumbling, and for that, we are very grateful.

Stourbridge News:

"It has felt strange this week as your classes have become smaller and smaller. Some of your friends haven’t been here because they have felt a little bit ill or because they need to be away from school so that they don’t catch any bugs. "And even though there have been less children, the school has still been bursting with noise, learning and laughter – which is exactly how Quarry Bank Primary should be! You will never know how important that has been to the adults around you."

He said children of key workers would still be attending school - and there would be "plenty of fun and exciting learning opportunities to get involved in" but other pupils would need to stay at home to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

He promised those staying off school they would be given plenty of activities to do at home with their families and there would be lots of fun online learning going on with teachers keeping in touch with pupils digitally - as he told youngsters they would be "fed up hearing from staff at school".

And he added: "We look forward to having our Quarry Bank Primary family back together really soon. Hopefully the school closure won’t be for too long and we can get back to normal. We already miss everyone so much."

Mr Rawlings told the News: "We're incredibly saddened that we might not see some of our children for an extended period of time, but we are happy to be doing our bit for the nation.

"Staff, children and families have been brilliantly supportive.

"We're going to be working hard to make sure all of our Quarry Bank children receive a great education either from school or from home and we're looking forward to having a huge party once our Quarry Bank family is all back together - it'll be 'bouncin on the Bonk!"

For more news on school closures visit our live coronavirus blog.