Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú

The government says secondary pupils in England will now have to wear masks - but only in areas like corridors, and only in regions that have been put under local lockdown.

The government had originally said that face masks and coverings would not be essential in school, but changed this advice overnight.

The new guidelines will apply from 1 September.

Head teachers in other secondary schools will also have the "flexibility" to introduce masks in their schools if they want to.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson says it follows updated advice from the World Health Organization (WHO).

Last week the WHO began recommending that children aged over 12 should wear masks under the same conditions as adults.

Mr Williamson said: "At each stage we have listened to the latest medical and scientific advice."

It's thought the government also felt under pressure to introduce masks in schools, after the Scottish government said high school students in Scotland would have to wear face coverings in corridors, on school buses and communal areas.

The Department for Education says that, for most areas of England, it is keeping its recommendation against using face coverings - but that schools will be able to make their own decision whether to ask pupils and staff to wear them.

This will be in communal areas of schools such as corridors, where it is difficult to have social distancing, and when schools "believe that is right in their particular circumstances".

Some schools had already been preparing to use them even before this rule change.

The Oasis academy trust, with more than 50 schools in England, is going to provide visors for its teachers - and secondary pupils were already going to have to wear masks in corridors.

In parts of the country with high levels of coronavirus transmission, such as those with local lockdown measures, the wearing of masks will be compulsory in communal areas for adults and pupils.

But it will still not be necessary to wear face coverings in the classroom, where "protective measures already mean the risks are lower, and where they can inhibit learning".

In Scotland high school pupils over 12 have to wear face coverings in communal areas, and on school buses, from 31 August.

In Northern Ireland, secondary school pupils and teachers have to wear face coverings in school corridors and other communal areas from on 31 August, when schools return full-time.

One school said pupils would not be allowed to enter the classroom unless they were wearing a face covering, but that it would not be required during exercise in the playground or when eating at break time and lunchtime.

In Wales, it will be recommended that children over 11 wear masks in communal areas indoors, and on school buses, but this will not be compulsory, and will be up to the school and local council to enforce.

Before the changes the ASCL head teachers' union had warned of confusion about the rules in England about the rules over face coverings - and said it wasn't clear how schools should respond if teachers or pupils wanted to wear masks.

Now after the government's change of policy, the union's leader, Geoff Barton, said school leaders would "welcome the flexibility" of being able to "decide what best suits their circumstances".

But the Labour Shadow Education Secretary Kate Green has called on the government to make face coverings compulsory in communal areas in all schools, saying it was "passing the buck" by allowing schools to decide themselves.