Boarding arrangements
Social groupings and interactions
During “boarding time” – broadly speaking, overnight from 17.30 until 08.15 – the Houses will operate their own groupings, dividing each House into two ‘households’. A ‘household’ is defined as “those who share a bathroom or kitchen”. We have used the Houses’ layout to create one Sixth Form ‘household’ and another for other forms. Pupils will have clear and strict instructions about which facilities they may use, which House staff will enact and reinforce.
Boarders have a room to themselves in almost every case. There are a few boarders who will share a large room with one other pupil. Everyone will have the opportunity to keep a safe social distance (i.e. they will not be obliged to be within 2 metres of others for longer than 15 minutes or to sleep within 2 metres of anyone else) from other pupils throughout the day and evening.
Pupils’ leisure time
At weekends, boarders will not be permitted to use public transport to go into Guildford; weekly and flexiboarders should avoid using public transport wherever possible. The School discourages pupils from all outside visits that are not necessary. There is a list of approved taxi firms, which should be used for all visits off campus. When outside the School campus, all pupils should wear face coverings in all public places.
Medical matters, school management of COVID cases
Boarders’ temperatures will be scanned and checked by Matrons in their Houses.
On arrival, boarders will receive a briefing about what to do if they feel unwell. If a boarder shows symptoms of coronavirus, they should initially go immediately to their room and then phone the Medical Centre to explain their symptoms. Medical Centre staff will discuss the most appropriate procedure with the House Matron, including any arrangements for testing. They should avoid visiting anywhere else in House until given permission by Medical Centre staff. In most cases, the School expects parents or guardians to take care of any pupil who contracts an infectious disease. The paragraphs below therefore only apply in cases where this is not possible.
According to government guidance, “In the majority of cases, young people do not suffer the worst symptoms of COVID-19 and many are almost entirely asymptomatic.” However, in all cases when a boarder tests positive for COVID-19 (whether symptomatic or not) or when a boarder develops symptoms, they will be looked after in a separate, set-aside area of the School. This will allow the normal school activities of academic and co-curricular learning to continue as normal in the rest of the School. Affected pupils will be under the supervision of nursing staff 24/7 for the duration of their illness. Special arrangements will be made for the provision of meals in these Houses.
In more serious cases, Medical Centre staff will decide whether a patient should be transported to hospital or should be cared for in School and actions will be taken accordingly. This will allow the normal school business of academic learning and the co-curriculum to continue as normal in the rest of the School.
In any case of COVID-19, whether symptomatic or not, it is likely that pupils in the same House grouping will need to self-isolate according to guidelines as quoted above. In the first instance, this isolation will happen within the pupils’ own House.
The School has received home testing kits for COVID-19 from the government and will use these in urgent cases when individuals become symptomatic of COVID-19, at the discretion of the Medical Centre Manager.
