A student's perspective on returning to school
Elizabeth Hooton in Year 10 tells us what it feels like to be back at school.
Like many other students, I came back to school for the first time in six months on Wednesday 2nd September. I’d been looking forward to it all Summer – much as I love spending every waking moment with my family, I couldn’t wait to catch up with my friends and get some normality back into my life. Despite this, I was actually quite worried about how the COVID-19 restrictions would have changed school.
Rugby High is like a second home to me, and I was nervous that the new rules would take away from the community feel of our school. As I’m sure you know, lots has changed (the hall floor is shinier than I’ve ever seen it!), but some of the more important things have stayed the same (the clock still doesn’t work). Unlike some of my classmates who take the bus, I cycle to school and don’t need to wear a mask. However, like many others I choose to wear one when I’m moving around the school, and I think it’s a sign of the RHS community that I haven’t heard any comments about this - to anyone - that haven’t been positive, for example about the pattern of the fabric.
Some sacrifices we have had to make include fewer practical science lessons, although we’re still able to do more than we could at home (no matter how hard I looked, there was no sulfuric acid to be found in the kitchen cupboards). Lunch clubs are also not currently possible, but hopefully we can find a way to reinstate those soon, as well as the infamous bake sales which have contributed to our school’s great reputation. I’m not studying Food Tech anymore, but I am aware that the Year 7s may not get a chance to bake everyone’s favourite cookies this year, and that other year groups are missing out on their practicals too. On the other hand, having all our classes in one corridor means that we don’t have to run halfway across the school to get to lessons on time, which is definitely a plus in my book!
And whilst it is a little annoying to walk in an almost complete circle around the ground floor to get to my form room in the mornings, I feel that the inconveniences are worth it if they mean that everyone gets to stay safe and stay in school.