It’s Thursday morning and it’s 8.15am, Year 7 students have already started to walk towards the ‘drive-gate’, this is the gate Year 7 take every morning to get into school. Not a single car driving down the drive-gate, staff have either already drove in or are on-foot and socially distancing as they walk into school with Year 7. Year 7 are led in single file and gather in their ‘bubble’ space in East ground floor. They have their own canteen, own computer room, their own hall, their own play-ground and their own classrooms which are not used by any other year group at all. I walk around the dining table and happen to hear a debate about the US elections, I check to make sure another year group have not entered by mistake, yup! It definitely was Year 7’s debating US elections. The whistle is blown and everyone begin to line up outside their classrooms and enter one by one. Today is Reading day at form time for Year 7, but one form group are going to the computer room to practice logging onto all the various online resources we offer to our students, paid for by the school, I can hear a distant “hooray” as the teacher tells the class to stand behind chairs, its time to go to the computer room… “hooray”!
It is now 8.30, I am waiting patiently at the back field as Ms Timms leads in her year group to line up single file outside their ‘bubble’ staircase to the top floor of the East building, this the Year 8 staircase and Year 8 alone. One form at a time, the Year 8 tutors lead Year 8 to their form classes. Head of Year Achievement, Ms Mckee is ready in her classroom about to transmit the assembly presentation to each form class – the virtual assembly goes really well, next week Year 8 will find out who is on the leader-board for PROUD points.
At the same time, 8.30 AM, Year 9 are led through the pedestrian gate by Mr Abbott-Vickers and walked straight in through to the Brook staircase and lined up outside their Year ‘bubble’ area. Today is the Project day for Year 9, some form classes will be going to the computer room to log onto ‘unifrog’ – a careers website. I can hear one group debating about animal captivity, linking to the current lockdown argument – for and against, some really good arguments.
At 8.45 AM, Year 10 walk in single file keeping to the left, no cars driving in to the car park, and Year 10 go straight into their form classes – form tutors are checking uniform, equipment and planners. Year 10 will be doing some work on ‘Character Education’ in the afternoon form time session.
Year 11 are expected to be in form by 9 AM latest, but at 8.45 AM, it seems pretty much the all Year 11 have arrived and can now be led through the pedestrian gate path and straight to the Ground floor Brook area which is their ‘bubble’. They won’t be staying long in the Brook building today, because today is the specialist day Timetable for Year 11, they will be walked across in a few minutes to the specialist building where there are dedicated Design and Technology room, Food tech room, science labs, PE gyms, Art and Photography rooms and much more. Today Year 11 will be having lunch in the specialist building canteen and not in their dedicated canteen space in the Brook ground floor area, their ‘bubble’. The timing for lunch will change slightly today, but it’s okay, Year 11 have had a practice run of the specialist day timing last week. As I finish my last form visit for the morning, I see some Year 11 students working in the break-out area to complete their prefect applications – good luck to Jade, had a quick read and there are some really good ideas on her application.
It is now 9.15 AM, off to lessons everyone.
Mr Khan
Deputy Headteacher