Gordonstoun?s Principal Lisa Kerr reveals how the school created a bespoke reintegration programme for pupils returning to boarding life after the second lockdown, an impressive feat which has earned the school the title as finalist in our awards
After a year which turned students? world upside down, Gordonstoun recognised the need for a different ?three R?s?: a return to campus, a reconnection with nature and a focus on rebuilding resilience. The school, which famously educated HRH Prince Philip, as well as two further generations of the Royal Family, set about building a mental health recovery curriculum for its 600 pupils in the North East of Scotland.
Welcome back
Planning for students? return began before term started with Houseparents developing a personalised plan for each student?s reintegration. Houses were reorganised and empty buildings were refurbished to create homely quarantine bubbles. Once back on campus, a return programme was built around the CHIME mental health recovery framework. This has been shown to help people recover from mental trauma by focusing on connectedness, hope and optimism about the future, identity, meaning in life and empowerment. At Gordonstoun, this translated into activities to rebuild friendships, adventures to look forward to, training senior students to be ?wellbeing watchers? and art therapy classes. It was all organised in a way which offered a gentle opportunity to get used to school life again.
The great outdoors
Gordonsto...