How Truro School Came Together During the Pandemic

This issue marks just over two years since the country first entered the first lockdown in Spring 2020, March to be exact, just weeks before the school term finished for Easter holidays. Truro School moved immediately to online learning at the end of the spring term and, with patience and practice, a new routine was established.

An Enhancement and Enrichment Programme was set up for 5th Years and Upper Sixth, after it was confirmed by the Government that 2020 examinations would be cancelled. The programme introduced 5th Years to life in the Sixth Form, and Upper Sixths were prepared for life post-18 with sessions on university and the world of work, as well as continuing to delve deeper into subjects that interested them.

The school site remained partially open for children of key workers. Many teaching and non-teaching support staff were furloughed. It was left, then, to Nicky Berridge (TS Development Manager 2016-2021) to run the Development office from home, and the office where we once met to plan for alumni events, raise donations for bursaries and where Jo managed the school archive, fell silent.

At times it has been easy to feel like much was lost during the pandemic, but it is those moments when it’s important to remember that so much was achieved. We take a look back at the past two years and how the Truro School community came together to support and guide each other through the pandemic, kept learning alive, embarked on brilliant charitable journeys, and made the most of the unprecedented circumstances.

Spirits were kept afloat with fun videos, challenges and activities, a particularly memorable video being a rendition from Senior staff of ‘Count on Me’ by Bruno Mars. The Rev took his chapel services online with his uplifting words, and weekly updates came from Truro School Head Andy Johnson and his predecessor Andrew Gordon-Brown (TS Head 2013-2020).

The co-curricular programme evolved and new skills were mastered. There were plenty of delicious bakes as the soda- and banana-bread crazes swept social media. A mass collaboration from the art, drama, music and DT departments encouraged creative pupils to keep being inspired, and let their feelings and surroundings guide their projects.

When the November 2020 lockdown was announced, Wednesday Afternoon Activities were once again adapted so that everyone could be catered for on-site. Truro School donated its use of catering facilities to help The Hive Cornwall batchmake 4,000 meals a week for people suffering from food insecurity. Likewise, Jenna Dobson CO20 put her Leiths Diploma into practice by making soup, bread and stews, and delivered over 300 meals a week, as well as asking supermarkets for foodwaste donations.

TREVOR DREW CO72 As a shortage of PPE was reported by frontline workers, the DT department wasted no time in putting the School’s 3D printer to use, and produced 1,000 face shields which were delivered to GPs, hospitals and care homes.

Mr Baker, TS Head of DT, commented, “Once we had a prototype we were confident would work, we were able to generate overwhelming interest through social media in a short period of time, which gave us the motivation to get making immediately. We were able to make 90 re-useable shields in a day, which have already been distributed to surgeries, care homes and hospitals across mid-Cornwall.”

Fundraising efforts didn’t slow down and the boarders, despite being up to thousands of miles apart, worked together on Mrs Mulready’s and Mr Copeland’s ‘Challenge 75’ and raised a generous £775 for NHS charities, undertaking a vast range of activities. George, Finn, and Stan (now 4th Years) ran a combined 60km in six hours and totalled over £600 for National Emergencies Trust.

The annual Rainbow Run, like many other events, went virtual, but that didn’t deter Truro School staff and pupils: £593 was raised by running or walking 5km for the chosen charity Children’s Hospice South West. Over the summer holidays in 2020, previous Upper Sixths Gracie and Sophie walked the Saints Way to raise money for Cancer Research UK, which took a hit in their donations due to Covid-19. They surpassed their target of £250 to raise over £700. There were many more fantastic fundraisers from the pupils, including Prep.

Sadly, we were unable to invite prospective families to Truro School on the annual open days and evenings. Nonetheless, a new plan was quickly hatched, and so the open events became virtual. Live Q&As with SLT and Heads of Sixth Form, Head Boy and Head Girl allowed the opportunity for new families and students to still ask those all-important questions and discover everything Truro School has to offer. In addition, the usual concerts and performances were pre-filmed to watch from the comfort of home, and the Careers, Medical Pathways and Aspiring Healthcare programmes continued in full swing, with guest speakers giving talks on Teams, which were also recorded.

Meanwhile, the Old Truronian community were brought closer together than ever, whether they still live locally or on the other side of the world, thanks to behindthe-scene efforts from the Development team. Keeping Connected newsletters were born, containing uplifting tales of OTs helping in the pandemic, offering help and support, keeping them informed with school news, providing Maria Taylor CO86’s (TS Head of Cookery School 20182022) tempting recipes, and even getting them involved with lockdown challenges. This was all despite alumni events being put on hold. The Annual Reunion Dinner and Afternoon Tea Party were particularly missed events.

We learnt quickly, though, of Old Truronians carrying out not only world-changing but life-changing work throughout the pandemic. Professor Trevor Drew CO72 is a world-renowned expert in the field of infectious diseases and animal health. He is leading a team of dedicated scientists at CSIRO’s Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness, who are working around the clock to understand and fight the virus which causes Covid-19. He told us in September 2020, “As you can imagine, things here at the Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness are pretty crazy at this time. As well as the work we are doing in pre-clinical trialling of Covid-19 vaccine candidates (including one from Oxford University), we are busy carrying on our other research, investigating the basis of immunity to the disease. We are also trialling some antivirals and studying the survival of the virus on different surfaces, at different temperatures and humidities. As well as all this Covid-19 work, we also still have to continue to undertake investigations for notifiable diseases for the whole of Australia! I had originally considered my time here would be a relatively quiet one, providing me with an opportunity to pass on my knowledge of exotic disease response to Australian colleagues. Little did I think that I would be head of a facility that was playing such a key role in the world’s first pandemic in over 100 years!”

SIR PATRICK VALLANCE CO78 Sir Patrick Vallance CO78 also attended Truro School. He is the Government’s Chief Scientific Advisor, Head of the Government Science and Engineering profession and a key figure in the UK’s current and ongoing Covid-19 response. Most recently, he was elevated to Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in the 2022 New Year Honours for services to science in government.

When the school grounds awakened from its hibernation in January 2021, a sense of hope and happiness filled the atmosphere as some normality was returned. At a week’s notice in January, part of the SBA was converted into a testing centre ready for school to open after the Christmas break. However, the third national lockdown was announced. When the new March return-to-school date was confirmed, pupils were tested a full week beforehand. In July 2021, our choristers raised £8,434 for Unicef VaccinAid. Truro Cathedral choristers, who all attend Truro School, celebrated the success of their Unicef VaccinAid Crowdfunder which raised nearly 70% more than their original £5,000 target.

The sum will enable Unicef to provide over 10,000 Covid-19 vaccine doses. The fundraiser took place as part of the recent Sing2G7 project, through which the Cornish choristers inspired children across the globe to raise their voices in song to world leaders.

The final day of summer term 2021 was a welcome change from the previous year. This time, a chance to say a thankful goodbye to teachers in person, and look forward to seeing friends again during the summer holiday or back at school in September.

An afternoon in the late summer found us celebrating the life of Headmaster, Guy Dodd (TS 1992-2001). The final total for our campaign in Guy’s honour (The Guy Dodd Appeal) was a remarkable sum: £40,000, coming in during the depths of the pandemic from much-needed donors. Staff and pupils came together to raise money for and awareness of local and international charities. The day raised funds for St Petroc’s homeless charity in Cornwall and the World Wide Fund for Nature’s campaign for ‘Our Climate Future’. Staff and pupils were allowed to come to school in their own clothes in exchange for a small donation. Meanwhile, a thought-provoking assembly was held to stimulate thought about how we can all affect change to lessen our impact on the environment. Pupils each made a ‘leaf of promise’. On one side, they included a personal, written #PromiseToThePlanet and on the other side, a promise they want world leaders to make to the planet. There was more to celebrate that July during Speech Day. After a year of uncertainties and changes it was with great pleasure, and some relief, that we were able to welcome prize winners and Upper Sixth students, along with their parents, to celebrate another busy and successful year. Safely seated throughout the Sir Ben Ainslie Sports Centre, guests enjoyed a selection of musical and drama interludes, as well as speeches from Chair of Governors Richard Thomas, Head Andy Johnson, Guest Speaker Sophie Daud and our departing Head Girl/Boy Team, Jenny and Isaac. For those unable to attend in person, the event was live-streamed by the Truro School Tech Team into classrooms, and to parents and alumni across the world.

The pandemic has affected us all in a multitude of ways, and it has not been an easy ride, but the Truro School community really lived up to the school motto, ‘Esse Quam Videri’. We were courageous. We were compassionate. We kept creative, and we stayed curious. And as the country moves tentatively out of restrictions, Truro School continues to provide support to all its pupils, staff and wider community as the post-Covid road is navigated.