29 December 2020
Dear students, parents and employers
I hope that you are keeping well and have managed to enjoy a restful Christmas break.
Following my letter just before the start of the holiday, I can now update you on the key issues for the start of the new term:
At the moment some of the key points are:
- Testing - just before Christmas, the Government announced that they would like secondary schools and colleges to carry out Covid-19 testing for students and staff in the new term. The testing takes the same approach as that used in universities (known as ‘lateral flow tests’). The tests are voluntary, so students and staff do not have to take them if they do not wish to do so. New guidance has now been published on how schools and colleges should carry out this testing. Further information can be found in this pdf short guide produced by the NHS (558 KB) . We are working on the practical arrangements for testing and I will write to you again in the next few days to provide further details and to invite students to register for the tests.
- Start of term – before Christmas the Government announced that secondary schools and colleges can plan a staggered start to the new term. For us, the guidance says that we should prioritise on-site learning for students taking assessments this year and for those who are vulnerable; which covers almost all students at the College. Therefore, students (both 16-18s and adults) will return for face-to-face delivery from Tuesday 5th January 2021. The exception to this will be students of the University Centre Newbury (UCN) who, as previously notified, are working online for the first two weeks of the new term. As I set out in my last letter, the first day of term (4th January 2021) will be an online learning day for all students. Students will not attend the College on that day but will continue with their online learning. Your teachers will be in touch on that day to ensure you know what you will need to do.
In order to ensure that we keep everyone in our College community as safe as possible, please do not attend College if you have any of the symptoms or have been in close contact with someone with a confirmed case of Covid 19.
Please do ensure that you continue to look at the College website, where we will provide any further updates.
With very best wishes for a positive New Year.
Iain Wolloff
Principal