Schools in Harrogate district hoping for a "normal" year
Fears of more restrictions could have an impact on learning
Schools in Harrogate district are hoping for a "normal year" for 2022, without any last minute changes to learning or exams.
Students were severely disrupted during 2020 and 2021, with teaching regularly switching from in person to online to try and prevent the spread of covid in schools.
Sylvia Brett, principal at Harrogate Ladies' College, has said no one knows what to expect.
She said:
"Every step of the way we wonder how long are we going to have to carry on in this situation of not knowing. But we have to carry on being as optimistic as we can and valuing the relationships and the people we have around us.
"We've got information about what exams might look like but that might change, we know that students will be tested when they come back and we're pretty well-versed at that now, so we will continue to be as optimistic as we can whilst making sure we're doing everything we can to keep people as safe as possible."
This time last year children went back to the classroom for one day, only to be sent to learn from home once the country was put back into a national lockdown.
Staff hope there won't be another switch to online learning if covid cases continue to rise.
Ms Brett warned that can't happen again.
She said:
"It was a pretty dark time. We were basically back for a day and then went into lockdown. There's a case of 'please don't let that happen again' but we are in such a better situation now with vaccination rates so I really hope we don't go back to that place.
"They need to be here. They need to be learning and socialising and having that stability that schools bring. Remote learning is effective but nothing beats actually having children in the classroom. However, their safety will always come first."