Disease crisis hits exams

Caldew Secondary School in Cumbria is in a high risk area

By the BBC's Jenny McCudden

Thousands of teenagers taking GCSEs and A-levels in geography and science subjects may be unable to complete their exams because of the effects of the foot-and-mouth outbreak.

This stark scenario has been outlined by the chief inspector of England's schools, Mike Tomlinson.

Many schools have already contacted the Department for Education and notified exam boards about the potential problem.

One such school is Caldew School in Dalston, Carlisle, which is experiencing a multitude of problems due to foot-and-mouth.

It is the only secondary school in Cumbria with an agricultural unit that houses livestock.

It's not easy to explain complex mathematical problems over the phone but a lot of the teachers are now having to do this

Teacher David Coulson-Lowes

Since the disease's outbreak, this section of the school has been closed and the animals have to be culled.

"We have taken steps to ensure our animals are destroyed, but we are entirely at the mercy of Maff and waiting for them to begin the culling," teacher David Coulson-Lowes said.

He believes the school should get preferential treatment, given that 1,000 pupils attend daily, but stressed that other troubled farmers in the area are also still waiting.

The school is operating as normal, although more than 40 pupils, including those preparing to sit exams, can no longer attend class.

"The kids from a farming background have been asked to stay at home, " Mr Coulson-Lowes said.

Lifestyles disrupted

Cumbria County Council have advised that children who live in infected farms should not be in school.

Cousins Lucy and Sarah Hetherington are A-levels students, both come from farming backgrounds and the foot-and-mouth outbreak has completely disrupted their lifestyles.

Lucy has had to move out of her family home, an infected farm three miles from the village of Dalston.

She now lives with a friend and her family in the town and has not seen her parents in weeks but she says it is a sacrifice worth making to be able to attend school.

Sarah opted to stay at home and gets homework daily via telephone and internet links.

Teachers at Caldew School have to brief students over the phone daily on what work to do.

Extra burden for pupils

"It's not easy to explain complex mathematical problems over the phone but a lot of the teachers are now having to do this," said Mr Coulson-Lowes.

"It's really very tough on the pupils, especially those preparing to sit exams this spring."

Exam students also face the problem of cancelled field trips.

"Fieldwork is now a compulsory element of some exams. We had a number of those planned, but obviously have had to cancel."

Students across the UK are facing similar problems, but those at Caldew are also going to have to deal with the added strain of seeing their animals destroyed.