Boarding during Covid
Are you concerned about your children during lockdown, distance learning or home schooling? UK Boarding Schools offer a safe environment with excellent facilities, plenty of space, a structured lifestyle and academic excellence.
A UK boarding education is widely known to encourage independence, increase confidence and develop resilience; it is these qualities that have given boarding students the skills to enable them and the independent sector as a whole to rise to the challenges of the COVID pandemic.
UK Boarding schools were very quick to adapt to the confines of lockdown, providing interesting, innovative and challenging distance learning programmes. Ensuring students had access to online lessons as well as a wide choice of extra-curricular activities; but now their doors are open again! The age of COVID has brought change to all of us and UK boarding schools are in the forefront of providing a safe and secure environment for their students. During the summer break, UK boarding schools were busy planning and preparing for the start of term to welcome their new and returning boarders. Social distancing, temperature checks, regular deep cleaning, PPE, quarantine arrangements, staggered lessons and mealtimes, year group bubbles and one-way systems have all become part of new school routines. Schools are taking advantage of their extensive grounds and playing fields to give their students room to interact safely.
“We have 450 acres of rural countryside, that’s over 1 acre per child and offers a safe and secure environment; it’s great to have the sound of happy children back in school”. Headmaster
Many are benefiting from a rural location and students are encouraged to make use of the open spaces for their exercise and well-being. The priority will be to ensure that students are happy and feel supported. House staff will be available to provide guidance and support and arrangements can be made for boarders to contact home more frequently than usual, so they can feel closer to family members. Guardianship companies have set up ‘quarantine hotels’ and arrangements have been made for students to stay in school during half term and exeat weekends if the family is concerned about travelling.
If you would like to consider a UK Boarding School for your child but are limited by travel restrictions we can arrange virtual schools tours, Q&A’s with senior staff members and one to one online meetings to discuss the options for your child. Flexibility is a huge part of this new world and schools are offering two term academic programmes, delayed start or distance learning until they arrive at school. Safety is obviously of the highest importance and schools are able to offer fully equipped and staffed medical centres, to ensure that they react quickly to any eventuality in the best interest of their students.
After deciding last year that he’d like to go to boarding school, our 13 year old son finally settled into his new life a few weeks ago. He’s been studying in a British Grammar School in the Middle East for the past few years, so it’s a big change for him. He has hit the ground running and has quickly made friends and settled in. There are lots of new things for him to get to grips with, but he is very positive and is loving his new life. We obviously miss him, but we are happy that he has met his goals and has started the next stage of his life in a confident fashion.
Uniquely this year, we also faced the issues relating to Covid-19 that we thought might derail his plans. We need not have worried, the boarding schools in the UK are well organized and had multiple plans in place to handle any outbreaks, ensuring that children and staff stay as safe as possible.
There is no denying that having him 4000 miles from us is going to be strange, but we are impressed with how well he has settled in and how quickly he has got used to the new school. His future starts here.
Father of Alex who joined St Peter’s York
During the Spring Term, Bromsgrove School had 180 boarders on site, read more about their experience: Lockdown is upon us once more
Read about boarding during Covid at Highfield School.
There has never been a better time to consider a UK Boarding School …..