Rapid testing

Secondary schools in England are being asked to carry out rapid testing for Covid-19 from when they return on the 8th March.

Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are also offering rapid tests to schools.

CoMMinS is running a small study to find out:

  • Whether doing rapid tests reduces Covid-19 infections in schools and communities
  • How easy it is for children, young people and school staff to do a rapid test at home

If your school is doing rapid testing as part of the CoMMinS study, the team will support the school to set up and run the tests. Find out more about taking part via our study information sheets »

If your school is not part of CoMMinS, you are still welcome to use our videos and resources which explain how rapid tests work, and how to use the results.

About rapid tests

A rapid test, also called a lateral flow device test, uses a swab from the nose and throat to find out if you are infected. Although a rapid test is less sensitive than a PCR (lab) test, it’s still useful because it can:

  • quickly pick up most positive cases, especially when you are most infectious
  • tell you that you need to get a free NHS (PCR lab) test.

By ‘less sensitive’, we mean that the test results can sometimes not pick up signs of infection. It could show that you do not have Covid-19, when you actually do.

For more information see Department for Education: what you need to know for when schools return on 8th March.

Instructional video

The following video explains how to take a rapid test and how to record the test result for the CoMMinS study.

Study information sheets

The study information is available in different versions. Please let us know if you need the study information translated into another language, by emailing the study team: commins-rapid-test@bristol.ac.uk.

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