Mr O. Rhead, a well respected senior assistant head of Tolworth girls. In addition to his work in running the sixth form and helping run the school, Mr Rhead dedicates his time to also teaching DT.
Post the lockdowns of 2020, Mr Rhead has had to throw himself into a new way of educating students, along with other teachers all around the country. With the developments of the pandemic, the phrase ‘mask on’ has become more common than ‘tuck your shirt in’. Schools must tackle putting their students’ safety and education upfront. Making sure people feel safe in school after the past year and continue to supply the best education they can. Two years of exam cohorts have been affected by covid; the first had no exams to show for their studies and the other having to deal with replacement exams. It has been a new experience for everyone and students have been struggling to deal with the stresses that all this change has brought.
An opportunity has arisen to interview Mr Rhead, one of the many teachers across the country that worries for their students’ studies as well as their mental health. Allowing him to comment on the pandemics affects on his students.
If you could describe Tolworth Girls before covid in three words, what would that be?
I think the three words would be: real, forthright and kind.
How much does your answer change for the current climate?
I think that students are working in difficult conditions due to the virus and huge amounts of uncertainty about the exams and the future.
What was the hardest part about moving lessons online?
The hardest thing was learning the new technology with little advance notice. The world had to be adapted to be delivered remotely and practical subjects struggled to adapt the curriculum to be delivered online.
How do you think students adapted to change from online to in person schooling?
I think students are very well but the uncertainty has left the students feeling that things could yet change. Some students are working below expectations as they think exams will be cancelled.
During the lockdown, in what ways did you see the events affecting student mental health?
Some students have become terribly nervous about returning to school.
Post lockdown, do you still think covid is still affecting the mental health of your students? If so, in what way?
I think students are apathetic and some have high levels of anxiety.
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