Primary children from Caithness face being stuck more than 100 miles from home if they develop Covid-19 symptoms on a school trip.
The 19 P7 pupils are due to travel south to Muir of Ord.
The children, from Canisbay and Castletown schools, are going on a visit to the Fairburn Activity Centre on Thursday.
But according to the Highland Council guidance, any of the children developing symptoms of coronavirus during the trip will have to isolate immediately.
They will not be allowed to travel home with the others. This would leave parents with a 200-mile round trip to pick them up.
The local authority said it is following Scottish Government guidelines for school trips.
I hope no child is left behind but the whole fact that it is an idea is crazy.”
One of the parents whose child is going on the trip.
A letter to parents about the event said: “If a child developed Covid symptoms they would be required to be isolated on the day and collected from the centre, rather than travel home on the bus.”
‘A huge problem’
One local parent, who asked not to be named, said: “This all seems a bit up in the air.
“Who is going to make the decision if one of the children becomes unwell because there are no doctors going on the trip?
“Surely by the time you drive there it is going to be early evening and the centre will be closed?
“I just feel this is a huge problem which could be avoided by common sense. I hope no child is left behind but the whole fact that it is an idea is crazy.”
Professor Hugh Pennington believes it is a “slightly odd” approach. He thinks a lateral flow test would be a better solution.
The former Aberdeen University microbiologist said: “It is a slightly odd thing to do if the child develops symptoms. What a shambles that would be.
“The obvious thing to do is to carry out a lateral flow test straight away and if the child tests positive then they have to go into isolation.
“For children, the risk is quite low and they are quite poor at transmitting it to their peers.
“The only real problem with a child being infected is that they can give it to adults.”
Wear a face mask and bring a spare
Parents are also told that the children must wear a face mask and should bring a spare one too.
There will be two buses travelling to Fairburn from the Caithness primaries. Both are leaving at 7am for a day of raft building and paintball.
The children are due to leave the centre at 3.30pm and will arrive back home later in the evening.
This is just another example of ridiculous and over-bearing rules which achieve nothing except spoiling what should be normal experiences for children.”
Jo Bisset, organiser UFTScotland
Jo Bisset, organiser for campaign group UFTScotland, branded the situation “ridiculous” and the rules “over-bearing”.
She said: “This is just another example of ridiculous and over-bearing rules which achieve nothing except spoiling what should be normal experiences for children.
“Why would parents send their child on a trip if they knew they might be abandoned 120 miles away, and then have to take on a four hour round trip to collect them?
“It’s been well-established that children do not typically suffer from or transmit the virus.
“It’s time authorities started acknowledging that and stopped trying to throw obstacles in the way of precious childhood experiences.
“Kids have suffered enough over the last year without more ridiculous measures being imposed upon them.”
Following national guidance
A Highland Council spokeswoman said: “Schools in Highland are following national guidance to ensure planned school excursions are as safe as possible for pupils and staff.
“National guidance advises that if an individual becomes symptomatic on the trip then a ventilated space should be available for the individual to wait in until they can be collected or can safely get home.
“The Highland Council continues to work in partnership with NHS Highland’s Health Protection Team.”
The Scottish Government’s advice on school trips can be found here