This statement is in response to the 4 January announcement by the UK Government relating to further changes to school operations.
Our new term started on 4 January but in line with all schools in the UK, lessons at Kings will be delivered via our online learning platform until at least 19 February. These will follow the full course curricula and will proceed smoothly to in-person lessons as soon as we are able to welcome students back into our schools again. We anticipate this to be from 22 February onwards.
This will apply to all students following both academic and English language courses.
We have developed significant expertise with online lesson delivery over the past months with both students and teachers responding extremely positively to our online learning platform. As such, all students and parents can be assured that learning progress will be fully maintained during the period of online delivery, with all students following their usual timetable.
All students who can are still strongly encouraged to travel to the UK in good time before in-person lessons begin again. This will mean that any period of required self-isolation will coincide with the period of online lesson delivery and that no time will be lost.
Students who are currently unable to travel to the UK can still follow their course as normal. Lessons are recorded so that students studying in their home countries can access them at any time where time zones might make live attendance problematic.
We also anticipate that the April 5 start date for A-levels (Kings Brighton) and Advanced Level Foundation (Kings Oxford) will continue as normal with in-person teaching.
As previously confirmed, the new Test and Release programme enables newly arrived students to reduce their period of self-isolation to just a few days. In addition, once at the school all students will have access to regular rapid testing with results available in just a few minutes.
The UK Government have also announced that summer GSCE and A-level exams will be cancelled and that new assessment criteria will be announced very soon. We will communicate full details about alternative arrangements as soon as we have further information. As in 2020, this will not affect university progression in September 2021.
Finally, the UK vaccine programme is now in full flow with tens of millions due to be vaccinated by the end of March. This can give us all confidence that as soon as we are able to welcome students back into our schools again, there will be no further disruptions to the academic year.
Ensuring our students are healthy, supported and motivated will always be our top priority. We applaud all students who are progressing with their academic plans during the current challenges. We will continue to keep them safe and keep them on track with their studies.
The Directors
Kings complies with the Boarding Schools’ Association Covid-safe Charter. This is your assurance of the highest standards of preparedness for the new term to ensure health, safety and well-being for all our students.
This scheme is recognised by the UK Government and is referred to in a recent letter to all international students and parents from a Government Minister.
Kings has also signed up to the official UK standard mark which indicates that we have met all standards required to ensure health and safety. It provides:
“reassurance to visitors that businesses have clear processes in place and are following industry and Government COVID-19 guidance on cleanliness and social distancing.”
Thank you for your enquiry.
We'll be in touch soon.
The Kings Admissions Team
