From 12th December 2020 to 3rd January 2021, Kings Young Learners ran their first Relax and Revise programme at Padworth College.
It was great to be able to run our first Covid-safe programme after an unexpected season off. All the necessary measures were put in place to make it safe as well as fun, including two lateral Covid tests for every student during the programme.
Located close to the city of Reading, surrounded by the rolling Berkshire hills, it was an ideal place for students who were unable to get home for the holidays due to Coronavirus restrictions to spend Christmas and New Year.
The programme offered an ideal mix of personal study time and on-site activities with new friends. The friendly atmosphere and small-sized groups helped create a cosy feel, where everybody knew each other on a first-name basis and felt at home.
After a leisurely breakfast at 10am, students were offered the chance to do useful revision in the mornings, and use the afternoon/evening to either join on activities with us and socialise or relax in their rooms gaming or talking to their families and friends.
If they wanted to exercise on a rainy day, a small gym was available; if they wanted to have a lazy afternoon watching the tv with others, the common room was there; if they wanted to socialise and play board games, pool, table football or table tennis, the common room was the place to be again. The specific structure of their day was down to them to decide.
There was a wide range of activities available, some were run by Kings staff — baking, basketball, movie nights, casino nights, nail art, t-shirt painting, silly Olympics and, board game tournaments — whereas others were run by carefully selected external providers. These included climbing, bocce, aero ball, skateboarding, the gameswagon, yoga, personal training, drama sessions and even archery! These were all optional, so students were completely free to choose whether to join or not.
On Christmas Day, we packed all our presents under the main big tree, so when students walked to breakfast, they were in for a surprise! We also had Christmas Day bingo, a traditional and delicious Christmas lunch and kept classic Christmas movies running in the background in the common rooms.
On New Year’s Eve there was a party in the main reception room, which students received individual invites to the day before. Fun followed with loud music, an open bar, silly group games, and dances until slightly after midnight.
It was a pleasure to offer so many students a home-from-home over the Christmas period, particularly as the world continues to battle the uncertainty and disruption of Covid-19.
Students were able to refresh, relax and revise, making them as prepared as possible to for the new term and new year ahead.
