The Covid-19 pandemic continues to impact our lives and in these uncertain times we find ourselves once more in a period of national lockdown.
Our new term at Royal Holloway began on 11 January 2021 with teaching online only for all of our courses and with many of our students not returning to their term-time addresses. In accordance with government guidance, our research students and staff are once again working from home where it is possible to do so.
On Wednesday 27 January, the Government instructed that teaching in universities is to continue online only until at least 8 March, with an expectation that this will continue until Easter for the majority of students. Even were there to be the potential to return to face-to-face teaching from 8 March, with the short period remaining between 8 March and the end of term (Friday 26 March), we feel there would be limited opportunities to return to face-to-face teaching across the university. Therefore, we have informed our students that, reluctantly, we have made the decision to confirm that all classes will remain online until the end of this term.
Our ambition remains for our students to be able to return to timetabled face-to-face when it is safe to do so. Through our representative body, Universities UK, we are calling on the Government to allow all students to return to their term-time addresses over the Easter vacation (27 March to 25 April), ready for the start of summer term on Monday 26 April. Once there is clearer guidance from the Government we will update our students and share information with you, our local community on our website.
A number of our students remain living in on-campus accommodation and, for those students in on-campus accommodation who cannot return to their rooms, we are offering rent removal until 31 March. The university’s library and other study spaces remain open for students who are either on campus or who need to travel to campus as they are unable to study at home. Academic and wellbeing support continue to be available online for all students. We also continue to provide asymptomatic lateral flow testing for students and staff who are on campus and to promote the importance of students playing their part to manage the transmission of Covid-19 by following social distancing and hygiene rules and guidance.
The Covid-19 Local Testing Site remains available on campus for students, staff and members of the local community with symptoms of Covid-19 and is likely to be operational until Spring 2021. Appointments need to be booked via the Government’s central testing system.
You can read more about the latest coronavirus updates from Royal Holloway, here.
These continue to be challenging times for us all but the roll-out of vaccines provide hope for the future and a return, in time, to a new normal. I would like to thank you, our neighbours, for your continued support of the university.
