Right at the end of February, the Government laid out its road map for easing the lockdown starting of course with the return of children to schools.

As a College we are delighted to be welcoming the students back and I know from the many conversations I have had with the students in our current provision, they are really looking forward to being back in the subject specialist classrooms and learning from their subject specialist teachers. Remote learning has been fabulous and so many of our students have engaged so well, but nothing really replaces the face-to-face dynamic connection you get in a classroom with the teacher and other students.

I have already communicated with parents and carers about our plans to carry out the Government requirement for the 3 tests and consequently our staggered restart. The actual operational running of the College will be the same as it was in the Autumn term, except now, students and teachers will need to wear face masks in the classroom if social distancing cannot be observed.

We will be sending out further information this week in connection with key health and safety points that the College community will need to continue to observe, as well as reminders about our behaviour and uniform policies, so everyone is clear on our expectations during this time of the pandemic.

To celebrate the end of our second College closure, I want to share a further gallery of fantastic work with you that our students have completed during February. I am hoping, as I am sure you are, that this easing of the lockdown with the reopening of schools heralds the start of a slow and gradual return, to some form of normality a year after our lives were literally turned upside down. There is much to look forward to, and we cannot wait to start introducing the real Crookhorn College to our Year 7 and 8 students who have not really had a chance yet to get fully immersed with our House system and all that this brings.

We are also starting our planning now for the new Year 7’s who are set to join us in September 2021. I am absolutely delighted that we had so many first-choice applications to the College this year, meaning that we are now significantly oversubscribed. We cannot wait to start the welcoming process with this new cohort of students. 😊

In the mean-time enjoy the quality of work that our students have been producing during the lockdown.