Years 10 and 12 return to schools across Oxfordshire

From Monday, June 15, kids in these key years could return to schools for face-to-face support with teachers.

As part of the return, schools are only able to welcome back 25 per cent of these groups at any one time.

Both Vale Academy Trust’s secondary schools, King Alfred’s Academy in Wantage and Larkmead School in Abingdon have seen pupils return.

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Year 10 Students at King Alfred’s attended in their house groups, each on a separate day, and took lessons in core subjects English, Maths and Science.

Classrooms were rearranged to allow social distancing, in classes of no more than 15 students.

Headteacher Rick Holroyd said: “Given the current circumstances, the fact that attendance was as high as 80 per cent was extremely pleasing to see, and we hope that this will increase in the remaining weeks of term.

“The staff have worked really hard to prepare for this, and our students have come back in great shape.

“They worked very hard, and they seem genuinely pleased to be back in school.”

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King Alfred’s hopes year 12 students will also get face-to-face teaching later this month.

Meanwhile, at Larkmead, year 10 and 12 students have all been in school for wellbeing and curriculum interviews.

This will be followed by two weeks of core learning starting today, supplemented by online remote studies, for year 10 pupils.

Chris Harris, headteacher at Larkmead, said: “All students have been very positive about the work they have been set and are generally in good spirits.

“There’s a genuine desire to be in school and an increased appreciation of what school provides.”

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At Wood Green School in Witney, pupils were invited in each day with the school reporting an approximate 95 per cent attendance per day.

Students are studying English, Maths and Science, and their option subjects, over a two week cycle.

Andy Gosnell, head of year 10 at the school, said: “These session have been deliberately designed to supplement our online work provision which continues to be the main way of learning for all year groups through to the summer.

“We have been hugely impressed with our students’ engagement and ability to get back to working in school over the first week.

“We are also now holding fortnightly live audio sessions on Zoom as part of the online learning.

“Staff have put a lot of effort into making all of the transitions as easy as possible.”

In classrooms, desks have been cleared, with each student having their own desk and chair for that session.

There is hand sanitiser in each classroom and at the front of the school, and cleaning staff are cleaning down each classroom between sessions, with rooms used as few times as possible per day.

Parts of the school are even closed off and corridors are marked for social distancing.