Coronavirus at Hartpury College as 33 students test positive

Hartpury College and Hartpury University says it had put a number of "robust measures" in places before 33 students tested positive for Covid-19.

Hartpury has more than 4,000 students, and not all live on-campus as some make the journey to Hartpury from the surrounding area, including Herefordshire.

“We currently have 33 cases in students studying at Hartpury University and Hartpury College, some of whom live on site in Hartpury accommodation and others who live off site," a spokesperson said.

"All are being supported by our dedicated support teams as they self-isolate with their households.

“Whilst the number of cases remains relatively low in the context of our student/staff community of nearly 4,800 individuals, we are continuing to work very closely with Public Health England and the Gloucestershire County Council Covid-19 Hub to ensure we are taking all necessary steps to prevent the spread of infection.

“The safety and well-being of our staff and students remains our top priority."

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"We put in place a series of robust measures before welcoming our students back for the new term including: mask zones, hand sanitisation stations, and adherence to the ‘rule of 6’ when socialising. We have also introduced a combination of online and face-to-face lessons for smaller groups and increased the number of places to eat and study spaces on campus, to allow students to social distance.”

Hartpury University and Hartpury College provides courses in agriculture, animal, equine, sport and veterinary nursing.

Located in Gloucestershire, the 360-hectare campus has more than 4,000 university and college-level students.