Stanwell School yesterday (Friday) evening advised its pupils to wear masks in "corridors, lifts, stairwells and toilets" but not "when seated in the classroom, participating in lessons, when eating/drinking and when outside of the school building".

This comes following a shift in the Welsh Government's approach, from remaining virtually silent on the issue to recommending that children wear masks in communal areas.

In a joint statement issued later by Health Minister Vaughan Gething and Education Minister Kirsty Williams, the pair guidance was changed to require schools, colleges and councils "to undertake risk assessments of their estates to determine if face coverings should be recommended for their staff and young people in communal areas."

The move has been criticised for leaving too much in the hands of individual schools. Mr Vaughan says a "one-size-fits-all" approach would not work in Wales.

In two separate letters - one to parents, one to pupils - Stanwell explained why the decision was made and even published mask hygiene advice.

One of the letters explained to parents that: "the Local Authority has written to all schools and strongly recommended that face coverings are to be worn in communal areas."

The WHO advises masks for over 11s. Masks in schools have also recently been recommended in England while they are mandatory in Scotland.