From the Deputy Principal/Head of Senior School

A great deal has already been communicated to parents, students and staff about the current outbreak of the COVID-19 virus. Without repeating a good deal of the information here, I would take this opportunity to ask parents to remind their sons and daughters about some of the best preventative measures to avoid contracting the virus. The advice from the government and health professionals is to ensure that good personal hygiene practices are followed, including the use of soap and hand sanitiser, avoiding the touching of eyes, ears and mouth with hands and maintaining social distancing.

A reminder that if your son or daughter exhibits any flu-like symptoms, including fever, cough or difficulty in breathing; as you would normally, we would ask that they remain at home until they are feeling better and the symptoms have passed. The College continues to act on the advice received by relevant health and other authorities and this information will be communicated to all students, parents/carers and staff in the event of any updated advice or action required.

Another important message that we have conveyed to the students is to not speculate about possible cases of infection and not to post comments on social media which are based upon unconfirmed or false information, since this only adds to misinformation and adds to concerns and anxiety. We have also encouraged students who have any questions or concerns or are worried about anything to speak with one of their teachers or a parent.

On a separate matter, I am pleased to report some positive feedback from the trial of new arrangements for loading buses in the afternoon. A number of boys and some parents have indicated that these new procedures have improved the outcomes with their sons and daughters making connecting buses and trains. Whilst not all students have benefited from these changes, the consensus is that there have been some improvements, especially for those students on priority buses. We will, of course, continue to monitor the situation and respond where necessary.

What has not improved is the number of private cars entering the site from the Badgally Road entrance during the restricted times. For some time now, parents and students have been reminded about the expectation that entry onto the site after 8.00am and before 3.30pm and driving into the staff car park is not to occur, except in exceptional circumstances and only where families have been given permission. In this case, the drop off point is behind the College Chapel.

Due to these ongoing issues and the risks posed to staff and students by parents who chose to ignore this directive and drive their cars onto the site during the restricted times, new arrangements will apply from Monday 30 March. Should any student be dropped off or picked up in the College grounds after 8.00am or before 3.30pm, without prior approval, the student will be issued with a one-hour detention to be served on a Monday afternoon. Failure to attend the detention will result in two one-hour detentions. Students will also be informed of these arrangements through notices on Sentral. Once again, we ask for the cooperation of parents to follow these reasonable directives about dropping their children at the College.

Mr Paul Brooks

College Deputy Principal / Head of Senior School