On Tuesday 17 March 2020, as the Covid-19 pandemic swept the world, The Tiffin Girls' School shut it doors and we embarked upon an extraordinary journey through home-schooling, remote access and centre-assessed grades. In unprecedented and challenging times, the strength and unity of our school community remained strong and our spirit steadfast.

We had locked down a week before the official government guidance and moved to remote learning with live lessons from the get-go. The provision was second to none. Students thrived and we continued to deliver an unrivalled quality of education.

A mammoth operational effort saw students return in socially-distanced bubbles at the end of summer term 2020 followed by the whole school in September. Year group bubbles had clearly defined classroom, dining and socialising areas. We survived cases of Covid-19 within our community and self-isolation within bubbles.

That September the school issued 45,000 tests including 3,600 on-site tests in September and via LFT tests for home-testing twice a week. Our biggest challenge was the recent Kingston-wide surge testing which saw all students, staff and their families undertake a PCR test coordinated by the school. The BBC covered our efforts on the news.

Our culture of kindness and community engagement extended outwards as we sewed and created masks and visors for local care homes and charities. We teamed up with local food providers to ensure that those less fortunate continued to have school meals in holidays.