Since the very beginning of lockdown measures in the UK, SGGS has remained open to children who have keyworker parents or may face other vulnerable circumstances.  As part of our ongoing blog series, Brooke from Year 8 shares her experience of what it has been like attending school during this time.

 

Over to Brooke…

For me, the lockdown has been quite difficult. I’m sure it’s been a struggle for everyone, but my lockdown has been slightly different to most. I’ve experienced working at home for a short period of time and then also working at school. These two situations have been challenging and incredibly different in many ways.

I’m very grateful that I have been able to return to school, as during my period at home I developed a few bad habits. My whole sleep schedule went awry, I was getting increasingly lazier and my overall mood was quite down due to boredom. I would class myself as an extrovert, as I enjoy meeting up with friends often and feel most comfortable with others around; it certainly didn’t help being stuck in the house all day either.

After about two weeks at home, I was able to go back to school.  When I first arrived, the absolute emptiness of the buildings and grounds shocked me. Only two other students are with me, so the once buzzing hallways are now more like ghost towns!  I’m still getting used to it, but I will admit in some ways, it’s really quite peaceful.

The structure of waking up at a normal time and having to look presentable has definitely benefited me. It’s fun being able to talk to other people in person and has definitely helped with my productivity. I found I was more enthusiastic about my work now because it felt similar to normal school, even though we are doing the same work everyone else is on their laptops and phones.

My advice to anyone reading this would be to retain a solid structure to your day as much as you can. Treat working from home like your average pre-lockdown school day; wake up at a reasonable time, try and stick to appropriate intervals and times for breaks. It takes some effort but this should help you focus and apply yourself; it has certainly worked for me.

There is no denying lockdown has been boring compared to normal life, whether at school or at home, so I can’t wait until we all go back to SGGS and I can meet up with my friends again. In the meantime, keep staying safe and hopefully we’ll all be seeing each other soon.