“I can still go to school in England” . . . wise words of one of our Year 10 international students who recently returned home due to the coronavirus crisis. Read her thoughts on her first week of learning from home . . .

3 weeks might not seem like a lot of time to change an entire school but since these times are very unfortunate and weird because of the corona virus my school life has drastically  changed  in comparison to my school routine 3 weeks ago. First of all, the school closed and I flew back to Germany as the school I am talking about, the school I went to the past 3 months is actually located in England. That was the first big change. ​

Of course I still have to go to school now but it’s very different. For the first time in my life I am experiencing online school which has its pros and cons. But I’ll start with the pros of online school. ​

It is way more relaxed and laid-back than actually going to school. I can pretty much decide when to do my work whether it is in the morning or the afternoon. I can also decide which subject to do first. In my opinion this makes it easier to concentrate on the subject than being forced to focus on a specific subject to a specific time. I also like that I can still “go to school in England” even though the virus forced me to fly back home. Also I was more panicked three weeks ago when teachers told me to explain something in front of the class or something like that. That doesn’t happen to me in online school which is one of the reasons why I am less stressed during my school routine now in comparison to 3 weeks ago. School 3 weeks ago was more hectic and more stressful than it is now. But there are some cons of the changes that took place during the last 3 weeks as well.​

I noticed that I was more concentrated when I actually sat in a classroom. Now I am more easily distracted because I am at home. There are more things in your house that can distract you than in school. For example your pets or other tasks you have to do in your home. ​

I can’t really tell which type of school I am happier with, but I can say with confidence that I am very glad I had the opportunity to try out both types of school without actually changing schools.

Easter term resumes shortly when “go(ing) to school in England” continues in this new world of education.