A HEREFORDSHIRE school says it is pleased to be the first in the county to offer its pupils the Covid vaccination.

John Kyrle High School in Ross-on-Wye said students aged between 12 and 16, would soon be offered one dose of the Pfizer jab.

Sharing a letter sent to parents on its Facebook page, the school in Ledbury Road said: "We are pleased that JKHS will be the first Herefordshire school to offer Covid vaccinations to students aged 12 to 15, and those year 11s who are already 16)."

The school said parents and carers should fill a consent form by Sunday if they wanted their child vaccinated. 

But national guidance said parental consent would not be needed if the child is considered competent to make a decision by themselves.

The letter to parents, from Vaccination UK, said children at the school would "soon" be offered one doze of the Pfizer jab.

Clinical director Amanda Schiller said in her letter that the priority was making sure it was easy to access the vaccine before the winter.

Vaccinating children would provide protection and help reduce Covid's spread in the wider population, she said.

She said the online website for giving consent would close two days before the jabs are rolled out, meaning vaccinators will be at the school on Tuesday.