PUBLISHED: Wednesday 24th February 2021
The government recently announced schools and colleges will stage moving out of the current lockdown from the 8th March seeking to ensure the safety of our students and staff. Your tutor or course administrator will be in contact with details of your return shortly. We are delighted to be welcoming back our students and staff to learning in all the College sites.
We are committed to keeping the College safe for you to learn and therefore will continue with our current safety measures including social distancing, mask wearing, good hygiene and in addition, you will be invited to participate in a Covid-19 test before returning. The College has been successfully running testing centres on all our sites since early January. For the latest information please keep checking this page.
Following the government's lockdown announcement on 4th January 2021, we have been working hard to adapt teaching and learning to support you in the safest way possible.
For the majority of students and apprentices, lessons will continue online as per your pre-Christmas timetable. Your tutor or course administrator will communicate any timetable changes as soon as they can.
If you do not have access to a computer at home, you can visit one of the College’s Open Access IT areas during the following times:
Highbury Campus
Study Centre & Deck: open Monday-Friday, 9am-4pm
Library: open Monday-Friday, 10am-5pm
Northarbour Centre
Study Centre: open Monday-Friday, 9am-4pm
Contact your tutor if you would like to use a College laptop to work remotely from home.
Exams scheduled for this week and in the week commencing 11th January will go ahead as planned with robust safety and social distancing arrangements in place.
We recognise some students may be nervous about attending college and will provide information about alternative exam arrangements as we receive guidance from the awarding bodies.
The following student groups will continue to be taught onsite during the current lockdown and your tutor or course administrator will be in contact to confirm your timetable as soon as possible:
- Resolve
- Foundation Prospects (all courses)
- Prince’s Trust.
All other students will be taught remotely, unless contacted by your tutor or course administrator with details of specific practical lessons or assessments.
If you are asked to attend onsite lessons or assessments, you may be invited to take a Covid-19 test on arrival. You will be guided through the testing process by our fully-trained onsite testing team.
Voluntary testing is yet another way to keep the College healthy and is in addition to the current range of precautions, which includes hand sanitising, social distancing, one-way systems, masks and screens.
View the Highbury College – COVID-19 Testing Privacy Statement here.
If you usually receive free school/college meals, Tesco vouchers will be posted out to your home address each week. If you have moved house recently, please contact info@highbury.ac.uk with your name, student number and details of your new address.
Our safeguarding team will continue to offer support and can be contacted via the Student Hub here.
Remember, if you are displaying symptoms of Covid-19, you should self-isolate and request a test here: https://www.gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test.
Covid-19 symptoms include:
- a high temperature
- a new, continuous cough
- you’ve lost your sense of smell or taste or it’s changed
And most importantly, the best way to keep yourself and those around you safe is to wash or sanitise your hands regularly, continue to wear a mask when asked and keep your distance from others. Stay home, protect the NHS, save lives.
The latest government advice and details on current restrictions can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus
