Youngsters are given sniff test as they arrive at a South Ribble school

As they walk though the door of the Walton-le-Dale school , near Preston, the children are handed a tissue and asked to sniff the contents.

The anosmia test for everyone entering the Higher Walton Road premises is all part of the school's drive to go above and beyond in the bid to keep Covid-19 away from the classrooms.

Anosmia, also known as smell-blindness, is one of the main symptoms of coronavirus.

The test was the brainchild of acting headteacher Liz Hindley's dad Don Feeney, who reckon it is a simple way of getting round the shortage of test kits in the community.

He said: "I have already written to the Prime Minister about schools testing temperatures at the school door, which is something that St. Patrick’s has also introduced, but the sniff test takes this a step further.

"It offers reassurance to the staff in school and the keyworker parents who are using the childcare on offer, that the school is doing its best to keep the virus away from the community."

The school bought five household spray bottles and is using a mixture of water and essential oils to test whether children and adults entering the building can describe the smell.

The headteacher said: " We are using five distinct smells: vanilla, apple, orange, eucalyptus and strawberry.

"These are easy for the children to identify and if they describe the smell as being like ice-cream or toothpaste, we know that they still have their sense of smell.

This is on top of ensuring that nobody with a temperature above 38 degrees is coming into the school building. These are comparatively cheap solutions which go above the guidance we have been given from the Government for keeping our children and teaching team safe whilst at school, which remains our highest priority. "

Although the plan of getting all primary pupils back before September has now been abandoned nationally, the school remains open to some pupils including those from key worker families and those deemed vulnerable.

Mrs Hindley added: " Our school has now reduced the number of desks in each classroom and removed a lot of the resources and introduced additional hand sanitiser areas, but all of these steps are pointless if the virus is allowed to enter the building.

"We feel that the extra steps we have taken should be considered by all schools and I am grateful to my dad for continuing to come up with these creative ideas to keep me and this community safe."