What It’s Like to Return to School During COVID

Six months ago, life changed dramatically for students across the UK. On the 20th of March, schools across England shut their doors just weeks before the Easter holidays were due to begin, and three days before the whole nation went into lockdown.

As of last week, schools in England have now opened again full-time, with those in Scotland and Northern Ireland doing so in the days before this. The reopening of schools is central to the government’s drive for normality during the ongoing coronavirus crisis, with the Department for Education describing the move as “vital for children’s education and for their wellbeing”. 

But what do the students themselves think about heading back to classrooms during a pandemic? I asked teens for their thoughts on going back to school, and what they expect from this very unusual new term. 

School may not be as normal as it once was, but it’s more normal than a few months back where we were advised to not even leave our homes. 

I am so excited to go back. I know everyone in my sixth form, so it's really good – I have nothing to be nervous about. I am fully prepared, my school has been amazing with communication, we even had an hour assembly on the rules and how the schools now set out. The school as a whole and the staff have been amazing and handled it brilliantly. Holly, 16. 

I’m glad to be going back to college and getting back to normal, especially since I’ve not seen my friends for a long time, due to the fact I had to shield as I’m high risk. I’m more worried about being in classes with people who I know have been to a lot of parties recently, and ignored lockdown rules for the past six months. 

During lockdown, I have struggled with my mental health. When I return back to school, I am worried that my social anxiety might be a struggle, since I’ve not been around people for so long. I have only seen one of my friends since the 20th of March, and that was at the end of August. Apart from that, I haven’t seen anyone other than my parents since March. 

I think students and moreover parents are in fact more worried about physical health as COVID still lurks, but I am more concerned about the mental health crisis among young people. I know a lot of people may have developed anxiety and depression during lockdown, and suddenly going back to college will probably make it worse for a lot of people. Schools should do something to support mental health, especially right now. 

I know all of the COVID rules. Thankfully, my school has explained to me and my parents., I’m not scared of COVID, but I’m slightly more aware and trying to lower my chances of getting it since I’m high risk due to my chronic illness. Chardy, 16.

For an A-Level student, someone who has a routine and is organised, returning to school was a relief as it felt like I gained a bit of normality back. Being in education for this many years and then suddenly being pulled out because of the virus was disruptive. Virtual learning doesn’t suit me very well, however it meant that I had more time to dedicate to my studies, which meant that I’d gone from C grades to A and B grades.

I’m feeling relieved to be back and it feels normal and like I can make some progress with my A-Levels. The virus is always at the forefront of my mind, however I feel everyone needs to gain some normality back and this applies to the education system too. Our sixth form is dealing with the situation really well which makes me confident. Tia, 17.

I am petrified if we are to go into another lockdown and schools are to close again. I ask myself, “How I will do any online learning?” since I don't have a laptop. In college, I am going to be studying animal care, so that will make things slightly more difficult for me as we have to be around animals. This is hard to do following any COVID rules as we are in larger groups in small contained rooms. It will be next to impossible to do any online learning, as we can't interact with the animals or learn their behaviours. 

I am fearful for my family health as in school, I could be around anyone who may unknowing have COVID. Cassidy, 16.

If anything, I’m actually quite excited. we've had no compulsory work to complete over the last six months, and I’ve only met with a couple of my friends once or twice during the entirety of lockdown. Being able to get back into school and into this new normal was a massive relief for me. 

I’m feeling near-ecstatic. I’ve missed the school environment and teachers so much. As far as worries go, I only fear that the step from GCSEs to A-Levels will be difficult since I’ve had such a long break from work. 

Our school has made our COVID policies very clear: we must wear masks in communal areas and on the journey to our next lesson. Then every lesson, we are to sanitise our hands before entering the class, and we are required to sanitise our desks and chairs. Joshua, 16.

I’m mostly worried about my A-Level exams. Students have missed too much face-to-face learning, we’ve had to teach ourselves pretty much everything. A-Level exams are just around the corner and I feel I’m missing a massive chunk of learning. I’m hoping the government will do something to accommodate for what we’ve lost in terms of school learning for the upcoming A-Level exams

COVID is very scary to me as someone with an auto-immune disorder. It could heavily impact me if I were to be affected, so going back to school is very daunting. I feel that schools aren’t quite certain themselves how to go about things. I think they’ve over complicated a lot of things.

I am looking forward to meeting my friends, but most importantly, I am looking forward to getting taught. Codie, 18. 

Firstly, I was worried about going back to school. But now, it’s weird how my fear has shifted from “being scared of joining a new sixth form” to “being terrified of contracting the virus and spreading it to others including my family”. 

Thankfully, my sixth form has been incredibly helpful by placing reasonable standards to maintain hygiene, offering excellent student guidance and providing online access to my courses. In all, I have nothing to fear. Jourie, 16.

I’m excited to start this new chapter in my education and start my A-Levels, but I’m nervous about coronavirus and it being spread to me and my family. I’m also worried about schools being closed again or having to self-isolate and missing parts of my education. My lockdown has been okay, some days have been good, and others have been awful, but I’m happy to be going back. It’ll be nice to see people other than my family and a couple of friends. Briony, 16. 

These past few months have been so scary. I have my GCSEs this academic year – to be honest, I am petrified, I haven’t done any learning for months and I am scared about how I am going to do my exams this year. I just hope I get the right support from my school and that I catch up on all the work I have missed. Charlie, 15. 

*Some names have been changed. 

@qaishussain14