Welcome back!

It has been fabulous seeing our students returning to College this week!

So far (and without wishing to tempt fate) things have gone exceedingly smoothly with the Covid testing, and getting students back into their normal routines at school.

This has largely been in part to the excellent behaviour of the students, who have taken things in their stride and cooperated brilliantly.  Students must also be praised for their very mature compliance with wearing masks throughout the day, which is a significant change and one which nobody really enjoys.

There can’t be anyone here at College who looks forward to swabbing their tonsils and nose first thing in the morning, so the relatively cheerful atmosphere in the hall is testament to the resilience of our students, and their sense of a wider responsibility.

We would like to say a huge ‘thank you’ to our volunteer testers, to whom we are extremely grateful; the speed and efficiency of the testing process would simply not have been possible without them generously giving up their time to help us get through the immense amount of work involved in mass testing.

Thank you also to all parents and carers for returning the online consent form, so that we are aware of your wishes.  We now have a virtually full set of replies, with only about half a dozen unaccounted for.  This is an excellent return rate, particularly when compared to other schools nationally, who have struggled with this element of the process.

So, all in all, a very positive start to the phased return.  We just need to keep this momentum going now – and with less than 4 weeks to go until the Easter break, with the weather and daylight levels gradually improving, and easing of Lockdown restrictions edging ever closer, things are feeling rather upbeat!