FOREIGN students at North-East schools are facing the prospect of missing months of study because of fears over the deadly Sars virus.

Pupils from Hong Kong, where there have been more than 700 cases of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, will have to delay their return to schools in the UK after the Easter holiday.

Five cases of the infection have been reported in the UK and precautionary measures are being put in place by schools who have boarders from Sars-affected countries.

Polam Hall School, in Darlington, has several pupils from Hong Kong. On the recommendation of the World Health Organisation (WHO), they will remain in Hong Kong until there have been no reported cases for ten days.

Once the WHO issues the all-clear, parents will be told their children can return to school.

Suzanne Davison, acting headteacher, said: "In order to ensure the health and safety of all pupils and staff, these pupils will only be allowed back into school following a ten-day period after their flight back to the UK."

Pupils will also need evidence that they have had medical checks on their return.

The headteacher of County Durham's Barnard Castle School, Michael Featherstone, said: "What we have asked our pupils to do is contact the school as late as they reasonably can.

"Some are proposing to return to the country for ten days first, almost as a self-imposed quarantine period."

Repton School, in Derbyshire, has set up an isolation unit for affected pupils while the Catholic Church in Singapore has temporarily banned priests from hearing confessions to help stem the spread of Sars.

A new type of common cold virus was named this week as the chief suspect behind the Sars infection.