A-level results day with a difference for Hampshire students

For many students it was the first time they’d entered their school or college since the start of lockdown. While the same familiar expressions of joy and disappointment were visible there was a more downbeat atmosphere amongst students who had not had the opportunity to sit their exams.

As one student put it: ‘I can’t get too disappointed at an exam result I didn’t even sit.’

Portsmouth College applied a range of clinical measures to create a ‘Covid secure environment’ for anxious students arriving to collect their A-level results. Even the college’s principal, Simon Barrable, met students at the entrance adorned with a full face visor and ensuring masks were distributed to visitors without one.

Mr Barrable said: ‘We’ve worked hard over the last few months to create a safe environment for students to collect their results. All staff are wearing visors and there’s also a two metre queuing system for students with collection points spread over five different rooms.

‘We have a one way collection system and hand sanitiser points across the school.’

The college have confirmed that teaching staff will continue to wear visors at the start of the next academic year and they’ve ordered four marquees to increase student space.

Mr Barrable said: ‘It has been a little bit strange but we are all having to embrace a new normal.’

Despite the clinical nature of results day, many students were simply happy to be back in familiar surroundings.

Charlotte Coqueral, 17, who was awarded two As in maths and further maths, an A* in law and a B in French, said: ‘It’s nice to be back in college to see teachers and friends and to get a bit of closure.’

SEE ALSO: A-Levels 2020: Waterlooville pupils 'lose faith' in education system as 70 set to appeal low grades

University Technical College (UTC) Portsmouth tried to ‘keep the day as normal as possible’ but staggered arrival times for tutor group bubbles.

Principal, James Doherty, said: ‘We allocated four different time slots for each group to arrive.’

Restrictions were evident across many of the region’s schools. At St Vincent Sixth Form, in Gosport, students were navigated by a one-way system - with two metre social distancing in place - as they queued for their results. The campus was devoid of the familiar site of celebrating students who were efficiently ushered off the premises after collecting grades.

Pupils arriving at Portsmouth High School had to wash their hands in the outside sinks before entering and exiting the building.

Other institutions such as Portsmouth Grammar School and Fareham College chose to distribute results digitally so that no students were required to attend.

In many ways the Covid restrictions imposed on youngsters hoping to share the experience of results day is indicative of the impact on their education over the last five months.

UTC student, Joseph Rickman, 18, said: ‘It’s been a really weird experience. I feel a little robbed as I wanted the chance to sit my exams - to feel like I’d earned my results.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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