Two million children have done almost ZERO schoolwork in lockdown, reveals study as secondary pupils with GCSE and A-levels next year return for 'one hour' meetings with teachers today

• e-mail

Two million children in the UK have done barely any schoolwork at home during the coronavirus lockdown, a shocking study found today as secondary school pupils with GCSE and A-level exams returned to classes. 

Around one in five pupils have carried out no schoolwork, or less than an hour a day, since schools closed partially in March. Meanwhile, only 17% of children put in more than four hours a day. 

The research, by UCL Institute of Education (IOE), is the latest worrying sign that disadvantaged youngsters are falling behind their peers during lockdown, particularly those from well-resourced private schools that have provided hours of online lessons. 

Only 11% of children in receipt of free school meals spent more than four hours a day on schoolwork, compared to nearly a fifth (19%) of their peers. Other figures revealed that nearly a third (31%) of private schools provided four or more online lessons daily, compared with just 6% of state schools.

Meanwhile, while some secondary school pupils with GCSE and A-level exams next year are returning to classes today for 'face-to-face' support before their exams next summer, some are receiving hardly any actual teaching. One mother, Sonja Halsey, said her children had been invited for one appointment lasting just one hour. 'That's not back to school!' she tweeted. 

As Britain edged towards normality today: 

• EasyJet took to the skies again today for the first time since its planes were grounded on March 30; 
• Millions of commuters returned to work on trains, Tubes and buses - watched by 3,000 extra police and transport staff enforcing compulsory face mask rules; 
• Shoppers desperate to hit the high street formed huge socially distanced queues after dawn today as the majority of stores reopened;
• Britain's coronavirus death toll inched up by just 36 yesterday - the lowest since before full lockdown in a promising signs the outbreak is improving.
• Families' staycation plans are in chaos over a lack of safety advice that could sabotage the reopening of holiday sites in the first week of July;
• A decision on the two-metre rule will take 'weeks', ministers warned today - despite warnings of mass redundancies unless it is eased within days;
• World Health Organization director again warns the UK not to lift lockdown too fast until contact tracing system is 'robust' and ready to be 'aggressively' scaled up.  

A student being welcomed back to Plymouth City College in Devon this morning, where strict social distancing measures were in place 

A school pupil wearing a face mask on a bus in Newcastle this morning as some pupils returned to school. Education Secretary Gavin Williamson has told MPs he is working towards bringing all children back to school by September

One mother, Sonja Halsey, said her children had been invited for one appointment lasting just one hour

Professor Francis Green, the lead author of the UCL study, said the findings paint a 'gloomy picture' of missed schooling and low take-up of academic work at home.

'The closure of schools, and their only-partial re-opening, constitute a potential threat to the educational development of a generation of children,' he said. 'Everyone is losing out in this generation, some much more than others.'

Last week, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson was forced to admit defeat over plans for all primary schools to fully reopen before the summer holidays.

The research, carried out at in April, suggests that children locked down at home in the UK spent an average of 2.5 hours each day doing schoolwork.

The figure is around half that suggested by previous research, which implies that 'learning losses are much greater than feared', according to the study.

It is based on a survey of 4,559 households in the UK during the last two weeks of April.

It found offline schoolwork is lowest in North East England, where the proportion receiving four or more daily pieces of work is 9%, compared with the UK average of 20%. 

The research also found that one in five children on FSMs had no access to a computer at home, compared to 7% for other children.

'The lack of a computer is likely to considerably harm their ability to do schoolwork at home, submit it and have it checked,' Prof Green added.

It comes as politicians, education leaders and charity heads have called for children eligible for FSMs to have internet access at home.

More than 40 senior figures, including former education secretaries, have called on the Government to provide access to 1.3 million disadvantaged pupils in an open letter.       

A survey of more than 4,000 state secondary school staff by app provider, Teacher Tapp, found that 71 per cent planned to admit more pupils beyond the children of key workers today. 

However, 11 per cent said they would either reopen from June 22, June 29 or at a 'later date before the summer', according to the findings published in Schools Week.

Three per cent of respondents said their secondary school would not re-open until the autumn term. Five per cent said a decision had not yet been reached over admitting more pupils and ten per cent said their school had already reopened.  

In Liverpool this morning, secondary schools visited by MailOnline continued to look as they have for the last four months - closed for business.

The Bluecoat High School, Liverpool College, St Hilda's CE High School, St Margaret's CofE Academy, King David High School, Childwall Sixth Form, Calderstones School, and Archbishop Blanch School were all quiet with few signs of life. 

She told Schools Week: 'A lot of parents don't want to put their kids on the buses.'

Geoff Barton, general secretary of ASCL, said heads are 'doing an enormous amount of work' to help pupils return, which is 'akin to something between a military operation and an exercise in mathematics'.

The Government wants pupils to have 'face-to-face' support before their exams next summer, but the amount contact time will vary considerably across the country. File photo 

He said: 'Schools and colleges have moved mountains to support children through the coronavirus pandemic with emergency provision, remote learning, and now bringing in more children, in extremely challenging circumstances.'

The findings come as the head of the University and College Union (UCU) was yesterday accused of celebrating children being shut out of classrooms.

In a message to members, Jo Grady, general secretary of UCU, which represents staff in further and higher education, praised the 'impressive public campaigning' of teachers against full reopening of primary schools, according to The Daily Telegraph.

She insisted her sector could 'achieve similar victories' just days after the government performed a U-turn over plans to get all primary children back into lessons before the summer break.

But Tom Hunt, a Tory education select committee member, said the fact many children will not return to school until September 'is not something to congratulate'.

The Education Secretary Gavin Williamson told MPs last week that he was working towards bringing all children back to school by September, and GCSE and A-level exams will go ahead next year

It's Manic Monday! Primark opens early after giant queues form from 6am as shops across UK welcome back customers for first time in three months - while masks become mandatory on public transport and some secondary pupils return

Britain today took a large leap out of lockdown today as English shops opened with up to 70 per cent reductions, larger numbers flooded on to public transport as masks became mandatory and secondary schools welcomed students for the first time in more than three months.  

Shoppers desperate to hit the high street formed huge socially distanced queues after dawn today as the majority of stores reopened this morning - but it was so busy at the flagship Nike store on Oxford Circus the two-metre rule went out the window.

Desperate fashion chains are sitting on as much as £15billion of unsold stock they are keen to shift with the largest queues appearing to be outside Primark in Birmingham, Marble Arch, London, and Doncaster this morning. In Liverpool their store opened 45 minutes early for browsing at 7.15am because hundreds had turned up. 

Staff at Primark's 153 shops opening today are greeting customers at the store and letting them in one by one so as to not make the shop too busy. Stickers on the floor and notices above clothes racks warn customers to observe social distancing measures while all fitting rooms remain closed. There is one entrance and two exits and as shoppers go in they are asked if they need any hand sanitizing gel.

Rival stores including Zara, John Lewis and Debenhams have slashed prices by as much as 70 per cent in a bid to lure shoppers back but experts predicted that footfall will still only be at 20 per cent of usual pre-lockdown levels in central London.

The Government is also considering an emergency cut to VAT and a relaxation of Sunday trading laws to lure more people from home to the shops, with road traffic also up six per cent in a week to 27 per cent today - but still down around a third of the pre-lockdown rush hour a year ago.

But despite stores offering huge discounts, one-way systems and quarantined footwear for returning shoppers, data from the Office of National Statistics suggests that a massive 64 per cent of people in England are too afraid to leave their house. And twenty per cent of people said they would never step foot in a shop again, according to a separate survey. 

In Liverpool (pictured) the Primark store opened 45 minutes early at 7.15am because hundreds had turned up to start shopping for clothes for the first time in three months

People queued outside Nike on Oxford Circus - but the two-metre rule failed among the shoppers waiting to grab some bargain sports shoes and clothing

Queues of shoppers waiting for the opening of Primark's flagship store in Birmingham today after three months of waiting for their fashion hit

Speaking during a visit to the Westfield shopping centre in east London yesterday, the PM said he hoped to see a 'gradual' build-up of people visiting the high street.

'I am very optimistic about the opening up that's going to be happening,' he said.

'I think people should shop and shop with confidence but they should of course observe the rules on social distancing and do it as safely as possible.'

Shoppers started queuing at Primark on Oxford Street at 8am this morning.

Among them was nurse Norma Chingwaru, 60, who had just finished her shift looking after a private patient in St John's Wood.

She said: 'I'm so pleased to be able to go and buy clothes in a shop again after so many months of not being able to.

'That's why when I finished my shift I came here straight away rather than going home first. I only needed some leggings but I wanted to be in as soon as the shop opened.

'There are stickers on the floor warning people to observe social distancing and there are hand sanitizers dotted around the store.

'However, not everyone was observing the two-metre rule, a few other shoppers were stood next to me looking at clothes. It's going to be hard to enforce I think.

'But I'm glad to be getting back to some of My old routine. It makes me feel a lot better.'

Six-months pregnant Mercedes Ashford, 22, from Kennington, South London, had bought two large luggage cases and some baby clothes.

She is supposed to be going on holiday with husband and said: 'It's good that I can at last shop again, even if it's just to buy some luggage and some bits and bobs for the baby.

'To be honest, it didn't feel all that different. There's stickers on the floor and notices all round the shop warning people to stay two metres apart and there's no changing rooms open but other than that it was normal.

'I wasn't wearing a face mask but the staff were and a lot of the other customers.

'It was busy but not heaving, so I could keep in my own little space without getting too close to anyone else.

'If this is the future of shopping now, it's not too bad.'

Care worker Dilek Gurgur, 31, who was one of the shoppers wearing a mask, had bought some clothes for her two children.

She said: 'I thought I was going to have to queue for ages and that we'd all be told where to stand but it wasn't like that at all.

'There was one way in and two exits out and although you were warned to maintain social distancing you could go pretty much anywhere in the shop.

'I'm not a typical woman, I don't really like shopping but I felt it was important to go today and pick up a few bits and help kickstart the economy.' 

People queue ahead of the opening of Primark in Leeds as non-essential shops in England open their doors to customers for the first time since coronavirus lockdown restrictions were imposed in March

Most of the people queuing in Birmingham appeared to be younger Britons, many in masks, who have missed their shopping fix

No mask, no ride! 3,000 extra police and transport staff will stop passengers without face-coverings as millions return to work on Tubes, trains and buses today... but flouters are ALREADY risking £100 fines

By James Robinson for MailOnline 

Thousands of extra police and staff have been deployed across England's public transport network today as new rules which make wearing face coverings compulsory come in to play.

The strict new law means passengers on Tubes, buses, trains and planes must wear a face covering from today or risk being turned away, or being slapped with a £100 fine.

But within hours of the rule coming in, passengers have already been seen attempting to enter stations without them, while one man who had a face covering was seen wearing it away from his mouth while sitting on a Tube.

Police officers have also been seen handing out masks to those attempting to enter stations without one.

It comes as more than 3,000 extra staff, including police officers, have been brought in to enforce the rule - which applies to all passengers on trains, buses, Tubes, coaches, trams, planes or ferries. Children under the age of 11 and those with certain health conditions or disabilities are exempt.

One passenger who travelled on a tube today and saw 'everyone wearing a mask' said the measure was 'reassuring'. 

The new rule comes as the government continues to strip back its draconian lockdown laws in place of looser restrictions, which included allowing people to meet with friends inside a 'social bubble' - which was brought in at the weekend. 

Non-essential shops are also set to open today for the first time since March when the lockdown rules were imposed to slow the spread of coronavirus.

Passengers on public transport across England must wear a face-covering from today or risk being turned away, or being slapped with a £100 fine. Pictured: Passengers arrive at Waterloo Station in London today

But within hours of the rules coming in, passengers have already been seen entering stations without them. Pictured: British Transport police speak to two passengers not wearing face masks at North Acton Station in London

Police officers have also been seen handing out masks to those entering stations without one. Pictured: A police officer hands out a face mask to a passenger in Canning Town, London

The rules apply to all passengers on trains, buses, Tubes, coaches, trams, planes or ferries. Pictured: Passengers wear face coverings on a tube in Canning Town in London 

It also comes changed its stance on the use of face masks, which they say should now be compulsory on public transport - bringing the rules in-line with the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: 'People should continue to avoid public transport wherever possible. But, as restrictions are carefully eased when it is safe to do so, it's likely that we will see more people needing to use public transport.

'So, while respecting social distancing and maintaining good hand hygiene remain the most important steps we can all take to stay safe, wearing a face covering can play a role in helping us to protect each other.

'This is about the small changes we can take to help control the virus, which is why I urge everyone using transport to wear a face covering, to help keep us all safer.'

Today, one passenger, cleaner Dani Kostova, 42, travelled from her home in Beckton, East London to central London this morning.

Exiting out of Marble Arch tube station, wearing a surgical face mask, she said: 'It's a good thing that people are now being made to cover their faces on the underground.

'You don't know what people may have so to be extra cautious I'm in total agreement with, particularly as coronavirus seems to be going down now in London.

'I've been travelling on the tube for a few weeks now and before today not everyone wore a mask. There'd be maybe 3-4 people in a carriage who weren't covering their face.

'This morning everyone I saw, commuters and tube staff, all had a mask on and it was very reassuring.'

The new rules, which come as experts predict transport capacity to rise to 20 per cent on the railways next month, only apply while in transit, rather than while waiting.

More than 3,000 extra staff, including police officers have been brought in to enforce the rules. Pictured: A passenger on a Central Line tube has a face covering, but not over his mouth, on a tube in London

 The rules come as the government continues to strips back its draconian lockdown laws in place of looser restrictions, which included allowing people to meet with friends inside a 'social bubble'. Pictured: Commuters walk past a sign at Waterloo station in London reminding passengers to wear a face covering

Children under the age of 11 and those with certain health conditions or disabilities are exempt from the new rules. Pictured: Passengers arrive at Canning Town station in London

The strict new rules on face coverings on public transport apply to all passengers on trains, buses, Tubes, coaches, trams, planes or ferries

They do not apply in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland - where their governments are only recommending people cover their faces on public transport.

Passengers are also encouraged to social distance and wash their hands, while the government still recommends people to work from home where possible. 

Today's new public transport rule comes in as Boris Johnson urged the country to return to the high street and 'shop with confidence' when non-essential stores reopen today with huge price cuts.

The Prime Minister said he was 'very optimistic' that the lifting of restrictions would help the economy bounce back from three months of coronavirus lockdown.

Stores including Zara, John Lewis and Debenhams have slashed prices by as much as 70 per cent in a bid to lure shoppers back. Desperate fashion chains are sitting on as much as £15billion of unsold stock they are keen to shift.

Speaking during a visit to the Westfield shopping centre in east London yesterday, the PM said he hoped to see a 'gradual' build-up of people visiting the high street.

'I am very optimistic about the opening up that's going to be happening,' he said.

'I think people should shop and shop with confidence but they should of course observe the rules on social distancing and do it as safely as possible.'

Last night it emerged that Chancellor Rishi Sunak is considering a VAT cut to stimulate spending following concerns that social-distancing rules and anxious shoppers will keep sales figures low, The Times reports.

Furthermore, half of Britain's shoppers could avoid the high street tomorrow with four in ten spending less money than they did pre-lockdown, according to a YouGov poll for The Daily Telegraph.

Just 40 per cent said they were up for going back to clothing shops while half said they were 'uncomfortable' about it, sparking further concerns for the future of retailers who struggled to stay afloat in the coronavirus crisis.

Outlets will offer hand sanitiser stations and many will enforce infection control by quarantining unbought items for 72 hours after they have been handled.

ore martials in high-vis jackets and PPE will ensure shoppers are kept two metres apart, browsing and handling items will be discouraged and there will be a plea not to use cash. There will also be limits on the numbers allowed through the door, which means queues are likely. 

The new rules, which come as experts predict transport capacity to rise to 20 per cent on the railways next month, only apply while in transit, rather than while waiting