Head of Horris Hill Prep School in Berkshire, Giles Tollit, reflects on a year spent adapting the ever-shifting rules of the new normal, from Zoom classrooms and lesson hours to bolstering community spirit remotely
With schools not reopening until 8 March, we can step back and look at almost an entire 12 months of schooling that has been extraordinary for all involved. Eve the traditional rhythm of the year has been disrupted: we?ve thought more in terms of ?versions? of school.
Following the closure of all schools on 23 March last year as we went into the Easter holidays, Version One in April 2020 was full virtual schooling, with all pupils (except those in critical worker families) learning off site; Version Two at the beginning of June saw increasing numbers of pupils and staff back on site, as pre-preps and year six reopened, followed by other year groups ? but still often limited by time or numbers. Some year groups continued to learn online, even if back at school. Schools had to decide which groups to switch to face-to-face teaching. Version Three in September followed a very busy summer for heads, bursars and senior staff, as school routines were completely redesigned to accommodate bubbles, one-way systems, and hand-washing time. Teaching could be face-to-face, but bubbles often meant using staff and spaces differently, as positive cases of the virus were detected.
The sudden move to Version Four in January this year ? which saw us back into a fully virtual provis...