Headteachers have revealed that attendance has dropped sharply today as the country comes to terms with the spread of the coronavirus outbreak.

Chris Dyson, headteacher of Parklands Primary School in Leeds, said that attendance at his school was down to 74 per cent this morning.

Other school leaders responded to the post on social media to say they had seen their figures drop - in one case as low as 55 per cent.

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It comes as some parents posting on Twitter warned that they would be withdrawing their children if the government did not act to close schools down.

The hashtag #Covid19walkout has been trending on the social media site today. 

Other school leaders have replied to Mr Dyson’s post on Twitter revealing attendance figures as low as just over half of pupils attending. But some schools said they had more 90 per cent of children still attending. 

Dan Morrow, the chief executive of the Woodland Academy Trust, based in Kent, said that the figure was between 55 per cent and 80 per cent across the trust’s schools.

It was reported yesterday that the government is set to announce that schools will be closed for a few weeks in response to the spread of coronavirus - but remain open to children of key workers, such as nurses.