6 minute read
Pandemic Perspectives
Six views on how the College adapted to Covid
The Leader
Louise Moelwyn-Hughes. Master of Marlborough College. 2018-present It was vital during the pandemic that Marlborough did everything it could to provide continuity of education for its pupils, academically, pastorally and in the co-curriculum, whether under restricted conditions on site or while in lockdown off site. Our usually bustling boarding school was empty for over two terms while we delivered a fully online programme. When back on site, social distancing, the maintaining of pupil bubbles, and the wearing of face masks created a very different Marlborough experience. However, the manner in which every member of our community played their part in being flexible, in being understanding, and in looking forward – despite every possible challenge and disappointment along the way – was exceptional. We have learnt much as a school during this period and there is no doubt in my mind that Marlborough has been confirmed as being a dynamic, responsive and creative community. We have strengthened our pastoral provision significantly over this time, that will help us to progress our Pupil Voice initiatives, and we will consider how best to integrate our greatly enhanced online capability, allowing us, for example, to access international speakers of renown. I am profoundly grateful to pupils and their families, colleagues and Council for their unstinting support during these difficult times.
The Expert
Professor Sir John Bell. Former parent. Member of Council. Regius Professor of Medicine at Oxford. Played key role in the development of the OxfordAstraZeneca vaccine
It was clear to me very early on that, although this pandemic was going to be serious, vaccinations might provide a solution. Quite quickly the University started work on a vaccine, and I was involved in ensuring the necessary safety protocols were in place and also in finding an industrial partner. I advised the College on the necessary preparations and their testing programme.
Marlborough was the first school in the country to take up testing and they did it systematically and effectively. As a result, it was as protected and as ‘normal’ as it could possibly be. The College also did a great job of varying the way the curriculum was taught remotely, so it was not just reliant on Zoom lessons. They managed the mental health of the pupils excellently and dealt with the assessed exam grades very well and very fairly. The whole school did a terrific job. The College has really pulled together to deal with this health-care crisis and this experience will serve them well for the future.
Sadly, there will be more pandemics and potentially the mortality rate could be higher next time, so everyone needs to be prepared. However, at least we should be able to turn around vaccinations and testing much faster next time.
The Beak
Hannah Meehan-Staines. Geography Beak. Head of Hundred. Resident House Tutor in Mill Mead. 2015-present Beaks and pupils had to adapt to different ways of teaching and learning through the last 18 months. During the first lockdown, we all grew accustomed to delivering content online and designing new assessment tools. Returning to the classroom was harder in some ways as we had to adapt to hybrid teaching. We overcame these challenges by collaborating and sharing ideas with colleagues, and by encouraging pupils to use their laptops, whether they were in the classroom or at home.
Being forced to use technology during lockdown has developed all our ICT skills – whether using Zoom, marking work on iPads, using online assessment tools such as Menti or Kahoot, or working more efficiently through shared documents. It will be interesting to see how technology will continue to be integrated next academic year and the opportunities that this can present. This experience has, in my mind, highlighted what a unique school Marlborough is. Both the pupils and staff have maintained an incredible sense of determination and good humour in even the most stressful circumstances, and I feel very fortunate to have been part of this journey with them.
The Pupil
Biba Tarn. Mill Mead 2016-21
The last 18 months has obviously been difficult for pupils. We had to learn to study online and then get used to wearing masks in class. In sport, we were unable to play matches against other schools whilst, in Norwood Hall, we all had to face the same direction, which made mealtimes less sociable. All this challenged students’
mental health and it was therefore extremely important to look out for each other. I am proud of the determination of all the pupils to stay positive, embrace the new normal and adapt to online learning via Zoom. Many pupils used lockdown to teach themselves new subjects or develop their music or artistic skills. Personally, I managed to record my first song and released it on SoundCloud. www.soundcloud.com/user631527079-839397735
I think that the pandemic has taught all of us not to take our freedom for granted, to live more in the moment, and to find happiness in the little things in life.
The Medic
Sam Jones. Medical Centre Manager. Trained paramedic. 2014-present My strong gut feeling early on was that this pandemic was going to be bad. I secured PPE for Sani at the end of January and created a designated Covid Updates board, which was kept up-to-date as new information came through from the Government.
The creation of our mass testing programme was critical and a huge team effort. We set up a mass testing centre in the Marlburian for term-time testing and a drive-through marquee in the Water Meadows car park to test pupils on return from holidays.
We continually improved the process and can now test the whole school in five hours. Public Health England visited us early on and adopted our process to help other schools deal with mass testing. The testing team was drawn from a range of staff from right across the College. Despite often feeling exhausted, we had a real team spirit – supported by Dolly Parton playing loudly as we worked! Some great new working relationships have developed as a result. I have always been proud to work for Marlborough College, but this last year has made me super proud of the College and its entire community.
The Co-ordinator
Bill Nicholas. Second Master. Former Housemaster of Summerfield. 1998-present I had the mammoth task of building the College’s response to the pandemic. I worked with a small team of people to redesign every aspect of the school day from scratch. We reduced the number of pupils in Norwood Hall, and we had to rethink the delivery of co-curricular activity. We staggered the school day to reduce year groups mixing and created 15-minute breaks between lessons to allow Beaks to sterilise their classrooms. We also zoned year groups in the Houses, so that if one person tested positive it was unnecessary to isolate the whole house.
The pupils and staff were great throughout and just got on without any fuss. Also, our response demonstrated to me how much you can change things when you really have to. The mass testing was critical, and the testing team did an incredible job. Also critical was the complex contact tracing we did for any positive case. There were only two cases of onward transmission in the College, which is testament to everyone’s hard work.
Overall, it was a great team effort and there was a real sense of community spirit. Every single person in the College went the extra mile and so I feel a huge sense of pride.
