The worries of being a parent

We've had some really lovely, complementary letters from school about our daughter during her first year at high school. She's doing very well there, and the school often writes to parents whose children have excelled during the term. So, when I received a letter today with the school stamp on the envelope, I opened it with a smile. The news was completely unexpected.

A pupil at school has contracted tuberculosis and parents and staff have been made aware of the symptoms of the disease. I hope that the young person who is ill makes a full recovery and that their studies and exam results do not suffer too much as a result of their absence from school (my daughter thinks the pupil is 14/15 yrs old). I can only imagine how worried this pupil's parents must be.

My daughter was quite worried when she came home, so had to be reassured that she was at very little risk of infection and that we would keep a close eye on her in any case - and that the authorities would vaccinate the children at school if there was thought to be any wider risk.