Marlborough College resumes full on-site operation for the first time since lockdown

Marlborough College students are gradually returning so that by the end of the week the entire College community of students and staff will be operating together (but not quite as before) from the one site.

The College have been working on detailed preparations for several months prior to this return, keeping in close contact with the unfolding guidance for the safe reopening of schools set out by the Government.

Students have been asked to limit the number of times they venture into the town, to go in small groups, to respect social distancing with face masks to be worn as appropriate.

Jackie Jordan, Director of Marketing and Communications told marlborough.news: “Our commitment on reopening is to continue to provide our established highest standard of educational experience, curricular/co-curricular programming and pastoral care, whilst also protecting the health and safety of our pupils, staff and local community by mitigating against transmission of the virus. This has required us to implement a number of adaptations.

“These include significant adjustments to the school timetable, to the internal configuration of buildings, classrooms and boarding houses, and a specified one-way navigation around the campus to minimise congestion. Our pupils will stay in year group bubbles whenever possible and will have a daily health screening, as will our staff. The College will be open only to essential visitors and by appointment. The frequency of pupils going off campus will be curtailed and, in line with best practice, face coverings will be worn at times when social distancing cannot be maintained along with regular hand sanitising and frequent cleaning of shared surfaces. All of these measures will be closely monitored and their effectiveness continuously assessed.”

She added: “The move out of lockdown is a challenging but necessary process for everyone and we are committed to ensuring that we execute this at the College in a safe and responsible manner.”