Frequently Asked Questions

We want to respond to the most frequently asked questions with the information that reflects the situation as it stands at present on 30 June, 2020.

Will the College follow Government social distancing advice?

Throughout the pandemic, the College has followed the Government guidance. This is a dynamic situation and we have made plans that allow for 2m and 1m social distancing in line with the current advice.

Will face coverings be compulsory for pupils?

Pupils will be required to bring back a minimum of two named, washable face coverings (which loop behind the ears, not the snood variety). They will be trained in how to put them on and take them off safely and there will be a process in place for the daily washing of face coverings in houses. Pupils will be able to choose to wear the face covering at any time and there may be occasions when they will have to wear one.

Will there be a quarantine option for pupils travelling from overseas?

Pupils returning from countries where quarantine is required by the UK government must quarantine for 14 days before joining the school community. This may be done in their own homes or with a guardian arranged by their parents. For overseas-based pupils who require it, we will offer a quarantine service at the College which will start on 23rd August. UK domiciled pupils will be expected to quarantine in their own homes or by other private arrangement.

Will there be any changes to arrival times in September?

A carefully phased return to school will be essential for offering reassurance to the whole community and for building understanding and confidence in any new processes. We are offering some online provision for the Hundred and Upper Sixth from 2nd-4th September and are planning to spread the arrival of the main bulk of pupils over two evenings, Tuesday 8th and Wednesday 9th September. Will the College use its own testing process?

The College is exploring a range of products which could be used in support of our own test and track process and the intention is to implement the most appropriate option, although it is currently too early to confirm this.

Is there an onsite medical facility for pupils who have COVID-19 symptoms to attend?

It is essential that you do not send your child back to College if they are displaying any symptoms of COVID-19 or if they have had contact with anybody who has shown COVID-19 symptoms for the fourteen days prior to arriving back at College. In the event of a pupil showing COVID-19 symptoms whilst at College, there will be a separate, dedicated medical provision on-site for their care.

Will there be health checks for pupils prior to arrival?

We will ask families for details of travel in the weeks before term begins and to confirm that their child has neither had any COVID-19 symptoms nor been in contact with anyone who has shown COVID-19 symptoms in the last 14 days. The same information will be required from staff and all visitors to the College.

Will there be daily temperature checks?

There will be a series of health screening questions that every pupil and member of staff will answer each morning. A concern raised here will trigger further assessment, which will include measurement of core temperature by a medical professional.

Will Exeats and Half-term still happen?

Yes, that is the plan. Some boarding provision will remain available on Exeats for those unable to go home. We anticipate at this stage that all pupils will be able to go home for Half-term. Will pupils be allowed to leave College for Privs?

As in any term, Privs are granted on an individual basis and this will continue. It is possible that we may only be able to grant Privs when a pupil is going to their own home. We would ask parents to communicate as fully as possible with us about their plans before a Priv can be granted.

Will there be sports fixtures?

Yes, if national guidelines permit and if we are able to travel. We have planned the usual fixtures for the usual Michaelmas Term sports but this may change if some sports are permitted and others are not. The Director and Heads of Sport are already planning a variety of possible scenarios.

Will the co-curricular programme run?

We are committed to maintaining the usual breadth and variety in our co-curricular programme as far as is physically possible, although we will observe any official advice on adjustments that may be needed. Each activity will be individually risk assessed, looking at social distancing and protocols for cleaning any shared equipment.

Will there be additional restrictions on access for parents to the College site during term time?

Our hope is that parents can attend any outdoor fixtures and small events that we are able to run. However, it is likely that some of the bigger events that would normally have happened in the Michaelmas Term may need to be restricted in numbers or postponed. Wherever we can, we will share closed activities via video. We would also ask parents to observe the conditions in place at the time for visiting the College.

Will the pupils be allowed to visit the Town?

It is possible that there might be some restrictions to the usual free access to the Town enjoyed by pupils during term time. The pupils will be briefed fully about conditions for visiting Town when they return.

The Start of Term and School Calendar

We recognise that pupils will be returning to campus after an extended period of time at home and away from the usual routines of school life. They will require time to adjust to being back on campus, as well as to absorb new safety information. As such, we shall put structures in place to ensure a more staggered start to the term in order to build confidence in and an understanding of how we will be operating every day.

We expect the start of term to run as follows:

Sunday 23rd August

Boarding facility opens on campus for pupils travelling from overseas who have opted to see through the 14-day period of quarantine on campus.

Wednesday 2nd September

Optional light programme of remote learning commences for Hundred and Upper Sixth. Wednesday 9th September (evening)

Remaining Lower Sixth and Remove pupils arrive at school. All pupils back on campus and residential in their boarding houses.

Thursday 10th September

Phased return to face-to-face lessons continues.

Sunday 6th September

Pupils who have undertaken the period of quarantine on campus move to their own boarding houses.

Monday 7th September

Prefects, Heads of House and New Lower Sixth pupils arrive at school. Friday 25th – Sunday 27th September

First Exeat. Pupils will go home although some provision will be made to retain pupils on campus where this is not possible. where this is not possible.

Friday 16th October – Sunday 1st November

Half-term. We anticipate that all pupils will go home for Half-term.

Tuesday 8th September (afternoon and evening)

Shell, new Lower School pupils, Hundred and Upper Sixth pupils arrive at school.

Wednesday 9th September

Lessons begin for all pupils (virtual lessons for the Friday 20th – Monday 23rd November

Second Exeat. Pupils will go home although some provision will be made to retain pupils on campus Remove and Lower Sixth).

We will ensure that there is a wide window of time available in order to avoid congestion outside the Houses, which will allow social distancing to be observed. Collection of pupils for Exeats and Half-term may need to be staggered too and it is possible that the usual College transport arrangements will be very limited.

Detailed Planning

The latter parts of this booklet provide more detail on the various planning options and mitigation strategies we are developing for the multiple different scenarios which are currently in play. We will firm up over the summer months which plan is required and we would like to be clear that whatever plan we put in place will be proportionate to the situation and to the official guidance.

Planning for different operational options

We are looking forward to the return of all pupils for the Michaelmas Term. As we plan for reopening, we are following Government guidance for the safe operation of schools, alongside specific advice for residential educational settings. Furthermore, we are sharing best practice ideas with similar schools, both in this country and beyond, and learning from the experiences of boarding schools in Australia and New Zealand who have already welcomed boarders back.

The planning groups working on the resumption of boarding have followed the guiding principles set out below:

Comply with or exceed the guidance for safe opening of schools set out by the Government Focus on safety and wellbeing through a comprehensive process of risk assessment Continue to provide the very highest standards of education and pastoral care Develop and implement a comprehensive COVID-19 infection response plan

The UK Joint Biosecurity Centre (JBC) has produced five level descriptors for the British Government which are given below. The College needs to be able to react to changes in the National level, possibly at very short notice.

Level 1

Level 2

Level 3 Level 4 COVID-19 is not known to be present in the UK COVID-19 is present, number of cases and transmission is low A COVID-19 epidemic is in circulation COVID-19 is in general circulation; transmission is high and rising Risk of healthcare services being overwhelmed

As a country, we continue to make positive progress and on June 19th the Chief Medical Officers and the Joint Biosecurity Centre recommended that the COVID-19 alert level should move from level 4 to level 3. We all hope that we will continue to see progress in the containment of the virus and that the risk level will continue to be reduced. However, we are developing our own set of operational plans for each alert level scenario, aligned to all official guidance and rigorously risk assessed. Although our hope is that the Michaelmas Term can operate as close to normal as possible, we will be able to execute any of the options outlined on the next page if required. The current trajectory would seem to suggest that we will be operating Plan C in September but we will keep all options open until the latest point possible. Please note that Plans A-E on the following page are not necessarily directly correlated with Levels 1-5 on the JBC descriptors.