Boris Johnson is expected to delay the return of secondary schools in England by at least an extra week, it has been reported.

The Prime Minister has faced pressure from SAGE scientists, ministers and teachers to keep students at home throughout January with coronavirus infections continuing to rise across the country.

Teaching unions have warned that allowing students to return will put them at risk of catching the new variants of Covid-19.

A meeting was held between ministers, Downing Street officials and the Department for Education on Monday to discuss the plan further, but the DfE would not comment on its outcome.

Secondary schools in England are now unlikely to fully reopen until after mid-January at the earliest.

It's been reported that ministers are uncertain after the warnings from the Department for Education that remote learning for the whole of January could jeopardise next year’s exams, but scientific advisers have urged the delay in pupils returning after the spread of the new Covid variant.

A revised timetable is reportedly being considered, which would see only older students, such as those studying GCSEs and A-levels, receive home learning for the week starting January 4, which could give most secondary pupils an extra week’s holiday while schools prepare for mass testing.

Reportedly, Covid testing in schools will commence the following week on January 11, and all students would be back in the classroom from January 18.

Primary schools are unlikely to be affected.

The prime minister is expected to make an official announcement tomorrow.