In just a few short weeks, Richard Huish College have transformed their Sports Hall into an extensive COVID asymptomatic testing centre, initially to allow staff, and students taking exams in January to have a test and sit exams with added safety. Within the first week of operating they had carried out over 310 tests, including supporting Bishop Fox’s Community School staff and pupils to be tested.
Recognising its value, the College has now extended its services to the local primary schools in and around Taunton to support the wider community. Staff across 19 Primary School can now access weekly lateral flow tests at the College to allow them to safely continue operating within their schools for vulnerable and key worker children. Providing results in just 30 minutes, lateral flow testing is quick and easy, administered by a team of newly trained Huish staff and external volunteers who are supporting the College.
Richard Huish Education Group CEO John Abbott said: “I’m delighted we have been able to offer our local primary schools the lateral flow COVID test. It always felt amiss that our Primary Colleagues had not been included in the original list of education providers able to access this test, so being able to share the facilities available at Huish to support our local community is very pleasing.”