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My first week back at Kings Bournemouth

18 Sep, 2020
My first week back at Kings Bournemouth

The below article was written by Kings Bournemouth A-level course student, Joshua. He gives us an overview of his first week back at school in his own words.

I thought long about how to write this as every first week of an academic year is special. I never had in my 13 years since I started school a week that repeated itself. However, every year I would say I arrived at a new place. I felt I arrived at a new adventure. This year however felt like a return after a half-term — a restart rather a new start.

When I came, two weeks before the beginning of the term, at my student residence things were different than they used to be. Thankfully, Kings sent us an e-mail with all the essential information. It, however, is always different from when you read something compared to see the plan action.

The time has come and it's the first day of a new year. Usually this day is noisy, busy and full of chaos, but it didn’t feel like that for the first time. It all started from the moment I arrived at the school, and everything was planned.

First, a member of staff took my temperature and told me where to go. It was a bit strange not to go the way I usually would bring to my classroom but helpful that teachers told us where to go.

"It was also useful that every way was marked, so the orientation was relatively easy."

When I entered the classroom I saw another new and unusual thing; a little camera on the corner of the room this camera was connected to a computer. Later that week I noticed that it was a useful tool to connect online with in-class learning, a benefit for us and our classmates online.

I have to be honest with saying that it sometimes was difficult for me rather than the teacher to remember that we have classmates online who like to participate in our lessons as well.

photo of Kings Bournemouth classroom taken by Joshua

After the passive day on Monday and an IELTS test day on Tuesday, lessons started to begin on Wednesday, and I was happy to have actual in-class lessons. During the first period I had to notice that notably our way of learning has changed but also our teachers and Principal whom I have seen beardless and with short hair returns with a beard and with a wonderful fluffy hairstyle! Despite that, it was a huge change for me and my fellow classmates to go complete paperless and I have to be honest it is a huge change and difficult, but I think we will get used to it.

The lessons on that day went quite well and despite some difficulties of communication with the students in presence and online things went better in the following days. Also, enrichment clubs and assembly work quite well and relatively normal.

We know everything is far away from the normal we used to know, however, in-class lessons I have to say bring back a feeling of normality despite the rules of social distancing and hygiene.