A HEADTEACHER has defended the decision to close his school last week during a cyber attack after parents claimed students learning was compromised.

A parent has said they had been left 'disgusted' at the decision to close The Misbourne in Great Missenden during a ransomware attack between Wednesday, January 24 and Wednesday, January 31.

The parent claimed their stepson's learning was affected because 'no homework was set' that week.

The Misbourne in Great Missenden was hit by a ransomware attack which affected some of the Academy's IT systems which 'significantly affected its infrastructure and operations'.

Because of this, students were told to work from home with teachers carrying out live lessons via video link.

Toby Scott, a parent of a child at the school, contacted the Free Press claiming staff do not know how to teach without a computer.

He said: "Not a single piece of homework has been set. Do they not know how to teach without a computer? How about using books and a blackboard?

"I am disgusted with this school. My stepson is in the first Year of 6th form. What are they [the school] playing at."

Commenting on the Bucks Free Press Facebook page reader John Tierney said: "Just how does a cyber attack shut a school. Staff can’t function without internet connection. What does that tell you about the school."

Headteacher Rich Peters explained how difficult the situation was. 

He said: "We would like to thank our students and their families for their patience and understanding whilst we have worked to restore the Academy's systems following our recent Cyber Attack.

"Our teachers responded immediately to this very difficult situation, ensuring that work was posted on Google Classroom and, this week, conducting live lessons via video link on Tuesday, prior to us re-opening fully on Wednesday. 

"We have worked closely with a wide range of agencies, including the police, the local authority, the National Cyber Security Agency, the Information Commissioner's Office and cyber specialists, CyberClan, to enable us to reopen fully only five working days after the attack, which is a remarkable achievement.

"A recent article in ITPro. stated that, on average, it takes recovery teams 427 hours to investigate, clean, fix and document a successful phishing attack; we have been able to restore services to the point of reopening within 168 hours. 

"Our students committed to their home learning via Google Classroom and live online lessons with commendable diligence during this unprecedented time. 

"I am very proud of how they conducted themselves and how resilient our teaching and wider staff body has been in enabling us to return from this cyber attack in as quick a timeframe as possible.

"We would finally like to thank the many families who have sent in messages of support and appreciation for the continuation of learning remotely during this period of disruption."