Today, Ysgol Brynhyfryd welcomed back years 7, 11 and 12 to a 'new normal' at school. In old money, that's the first year, the fifth year and the lower sixth. That's about 40 per cent of school. The first year is presumably felt to be critical, to allow the 11 year olds an opportunity to settle in. And the fifth and lower sixth are exam years (though we aren't sure why the upper sixth were missing). This is the full timetable for return to lessons:
There were very few on the school buses. This is understandable for the first year pupils, as parents might've felt it appropriate to coddle them at the start of term. But, other parents seemed to feel that it was safer to bring in their children themselves than use the school bus. It resulted in chaos at the school gate. In spite of less than half the school in, there was an incredible scrum the likes of which I have never seen on any morning in several decades.
| Today | 1st, 5th, lower 6th |
| Tomorrow | 1st, 4th, 5th, upper 6th |
| Monday | 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th |
| Tuesday | Full school |
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| The usually popular double decker from Dinbych was followed by this second decker, today. Click on the image to read the bus' destination display, which reads 'Brynhyfryd School'. Why not use the correct word 'Ygsol'? |
There were very few on the school buses. This is understandable for the first year pupils, as parents might've felt it appropriate to coddle them at the start of term. But, other parents seemed to feel that it was safer to bring in their children themselves than use the school bus. It resulted in chaos at the school gate. In spite of less than half the school in, there was an incredible scrum the likes of which I have never seen on any morning in several decades.
Parents unused to driving onto the site had no idea that buses and coaches had to swing out wide to avoid grounded and through their unthinking they messed things up completely, for themselves and for the bus drivers. Upon entry, they tried to squeeze past exiting buses, went round the wrong side of buses and failed to hang back on Mold Road while buses tried to sweep out. And, there were more buses than usual, because some were duplicated, to ensure adults and children could travel.
It didn't help that the first years were to gather in the sports hall, which meant that parents drove round there to drop their cargo off, mixing and tangling with buses in the bus park.
Most—virtually all—on the buses were wearing face coverings, as they had been told to do.
Lunchtime and the lower sixth decided to wander into town, because, well, they can, you know. This was the new freedom of moving from the statutory fifth to the discretionary sixth. Interestingly, boys in town vastly outnumbered girls.
The site of the sixth in town largely missing in any number since mid-March felt very odd. This was probably good for Tesco and Chatwin's but it resulted in distancing being impossible (and the sixth formers themselves not bothering with such niceties, presumably because they were in their own bubble).
At the end of the day, the school had staggered leaving times, to try to disperse pupils evenly in year groups. Some were out of school as early at 3.15p.m.
Update 4/9/20: It used to be a classic excuse. 'Sorry, sir, I forgot my gym kit'. No longer. Today, some pupils went to and from school in their sports kits, presumably to prevent the need to change at school.