ONE in eight school pupils in Bolton missed school due to coronavirus ahead of the summer holidays, figures reveal.

Department for Education data shows up to 12.6 per cent of children were absent from school for reasons linked to Covid-19 on July 15 – the day the Government body carried out its last snapshot survey.

Around 11.4 per of children were self-isolating due to possible contact with a Covid-19 case, while the rest had a confirmed or suspected case of coronavirus, or were off as a result of Covid-related school closures.

The Government has been criticised for its rules around "bubbles" in schools, with teachers, parents and unions complaining the system caused widespread disruption to children's education, after pupils already missed out on so much in-person teaching due to the lockdowns.

The latest snapshot shows up to 13 per cent of secondary school pupils in Bolton were not in class for reasons related to coronavirus, while up to 12.4 per cent of primary pupils were missing school.

The figures have been adjusted to exclude students in Years 11-13, who were not expected to attend.

Teachers and school leaders were also impacted by Covid-related absences, with 5.8 per cent missing work across school stages.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson announced that the use of “bubbles” in schools in England will come to an end as the country eases lockdown restrictions.

Mr Williamson said it was up to individual schools and colleges whether they scrapped the bubble system ahead of the summer holidays, following the move to step four of the road map.

A DfE spokesman said: “Where children needed to isolate last term, schools were required to offer immediate access to high-quality remote education.

“As of step 4, schools no longer need to operate a bubble system, and from August 16 pupils will not need to self-isolate should they come into contact with a positive case, in line with the position for wider society.”