A SCHOOL has been forced to postpone a number of events after almost half of pupils were struck down by illness.

Barrow’s St Pius X Catholic Primary School has seen a host of pupils forced to stay at home after experiencing vomiting and diarrhoea.

The school said it had chosen to stop visitors entering the site after advice from Public Health England.

Yesterday only 53 per cent of children at the school attended, with headteacher Kevin McGoldrick urging anyone with symptoms to stay away for 48 hours to prevent the illness spreading.

Events due to take place this week, including the school’s Christmas productions, have been pushed back until next week.

Mr McGoldrick said: “I have taken advice from Public Health England who recommended we don’t allow visitors in so that’s why we postponed our events.

“There’s been a bit of disruption in classes with lots of children being off.

“Hopefully everyone who is ill will be able to come back in.

"It’s going to be very busy next week.”

The headteacher said the school was set for a ‘deep-clean’ to further prevent the illness spreading following official advice.

Mr McGoldrick joked most teachers had evaded the illness after building up ‘years of resistance’.

Offering advice to parents and children, a spokesman for Cumbria County Council said: “Diarrhoea and vomiting illnesses can easily spread from one person to another, particularly in places like schools where people are in close contact with each other for much of the day.

“Anyone who becomes ill should stay away from school until they have been free from symptoms for a full 48 hours.”