The headteacher of Sidmouth College has praised her students and staff after a term like no other.

Headteacher Sarah Parsons said: “I cannot praise the students and staff of Sidmouth College highly enough for the hard work, resilience and professionalism they have demonstrated during these challenging times.”

When the coronavirus pandemic struck, the college remained open for keyworker students before a partial reopening in June for year 10 and 12 students following updated government guidelines.

Mrs Parsons said: “These keyworker students worked in groups of 15 supported by a range of staff including teachers, learning mentors and members of the pastoral support team.

“The students followed their programme of home learning at the college as well as having additional PE and reading sessions during the day.

“[When the year 10s and 12s returned] This was very successful with over 92 per cent of the students returning to the college for face to face sessions with specialist teachers, 1:1 mentoring and wellbeing check-in meetings.”

The attention now turns to reopening in September when a full reopening is planned as well as welcoming new year 7s and 12s.

Mrs Parsons said: “The staff at the Sidmouth College have been working hard on the plans for our September reopening for all students.

“By creating year group bubbles and staggering the timings of the school day as well as a wide range of other measures we will be putting in place, we can ensure that we are making the college safe for all students to return to.

“I would like to thank all of our parents for their continued support during these past four months, and for all the positive messages and feedback that we have received.

“The new academic year looks set to be a one that we can look forward to, with the move into our new building planned for the start of the spring term.

“We are also welcoming to the college our biggest cohort of year 7 students and year 12 students. I would encourage all students returning to us in September to visit our website and to watch the video clips we have prepared about the changes we are putting in place to ensure that we are continuing to follow the government guidance.”