Millions of secondary school pupils across the UK finally returned to school today - and 'military style' Covid-19 testing regimes.
Around 2,000 staff and pupils were welcomed back to Walbottle Academy in Newcastle upon Tyne, one of the biggest secondary schools in the country.
An extensive testing programme last week meant that the school's 1700 pupils had already been tested twice before they walked through the door.
But they were all given one final test in the huge school hall, which resembled an NHS mass vaccination centre, before they start to do their own 'home testing' next week.
Principal Martin Wood told how the tests carried out before the return meant that staff, parents and pupils had peace of mind. "We have around 1700 pupils, from Year 7 all the way up to sixth form, from 11 to 18 years old.
"All of our pupils returned to lessons today because of the mass testing of our students last week while they were still home learning.
"We did more than 2,000 tests, they have had two and then they do their third so that they all have had three tests by the end of Tuesday.
"We have moved everything to make sure that we could get them in. As good as our remote learning has been, it is no replacement for the experience of coming into school. The children come into school to learn, the teachers want to be here to teach.
"We've got all the good things about being in the building which you are not able to do online. So long as it is safe, it is about what is best for children.
"There is a real buzz to being back - it feels like the first step on the roadmap out of lockdown."
And he paid tribute to the 'phenomenal' staff who volunteered to work in the school testing. "Real heroes don't wear capes - they were testing aprons and visors," he added.
There are around 132 teachers who have had two tests a week as well as the support staff, many working in the testing centre. In future, staff and children will register for testing online, and if there is a positive test, they will be required to isolate for 10 days.
But there have been few issues with staff so far thanks to the rigorous regime in place inside the school.
There are arrows and posters everywhere instructing anyone entering the building to keep 2m apart. All lessons were delivered via a 'digital classroom' during lockdown, an example of 'good practice' which has been shared around the city and beyond.
English teacher Emma Thornton, assistant secretary for the National Education Union in Newcastle, says staff have felt confident about returning. "Live streaming for the entire timetable was no different to being in person," she said. "It was the same job but live, remotely, so that it did not add to the workload.
"It felt like normality even in the middle of a lockdown. The staff can keep their cameras off but I preferred to keep mine on because it was easier for communication.
"The chat facility meant they could ask questions and we used shared files so that you can watch the kids typing and interact as well. But it is so good having the kids back, you cannot beat it. It had to be the top priority, opening schools again."
She added: "I was not frightened about coming back at all, there has been so much testing for pupils beforehand, and staff keep 2m distance at all times in the class - they teach from a little 'box' marked off by signs on the floor, with ventilation in all the classrooms."
The virtual lessons still gave 'really quick' feedback and pupils were able to interact and comment as they would in the classroom. And teachers used pink fonts to mark written work, making it as close as possible to the classroom experience.
Half of the school's intake qualifies for a pupil premium - extra funding for those with particular needs - and 40 percent are on free school meals. The academy, run by the Northern Educational Trust, also gave out around 600 laptops and extra support to families for internet access, and provided £10,000 for uniforms where families were struggling due to lockdown.
But now, the pupils will be able to take part in sport, and see their friends and teachers again. A strict Covid-19 protocol is in place for hand washing, mask wearing and social distancing across the huge school site. There are split lunch times so that younger pupils have their meals earlier - just as they did before - and the 'soft furnishings' have been removed from the sixth form common room.
They have been replaced by hard chairs as they are easier to clean for the strict Covid protocols. The school sports hall has been turned into a vaccination centre. Pupils first line up at a social distance in a hall then move in single file to the registration desk.
They then move one by one through a long corridor to the hall where there are a series of cubicles in place, with separate lines for PPE for staff according to their role in the process.
Learning manager John Chilton, who worked in a Sodexo test and trace centre before he took up his job at the school, explains to some of the youngest pupils how the test works. "It is important that everyone knows their job, and the children are kept calm," he said. "It makes the whole thing easier."
Sixth former Joseph Bell, 16, came in early to continue his A level studies in Maths, Law, Geography and English. "I am so glad to be back," he said. "I have not seen some of my friends since before Christmas.
"The online learning has been really good, but it is really important to be able to see people again."
Laura Keys, 18, doing A levels in sociology, biology and psychology, was back in class as she looks to get into Durham University this year.
"I was excited to see everyone again without being on screen," she said.
"I didn't expect to miss them as much as I have done."
Professor Calum Semple, a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), said a small rise in the R number - representing the reproduction rate of the virus - is less important than the absolute numbers being admitted to hospital and intensive care.
Ministers believe the roll out of the Covid-19 vaccinations should break the link between case numbers and hospital admissions and deaths as more and more people are protected from the disease.
Prof Semple said schools are "absolutely" safe for children to return to as surveys showed that even secondary school pupils are far less likely to contract the disease or transmit it than adults.
He said the main risks come from the increased contacts among adults which will inevitably follow. "The main driver is not the pupil-teacher relationship," he told BBC Breakfast.
"When we talk about schools, it is the fact that the school brings adults together, whether that's teaching staff, the domestic staff, the catering staff, and it's an opportunity for mixing."
He said the advice for teachers is to wear face masks, while being "really careful" in the common room.
"Their colleagues are more of a risk to them than the children," he said. Professor Russell Viner, president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said it was important that other lockdown restrictions remain in place for at least three weeks as schools return.
"We know that reopening schools will increase transmission, but we should be able to keep the R below one - that's the key thing to stop the runaway increase of infections," he told Times Radio.
"The key thing is that children themselves, and parents, don't think 'The schools are open, we can relax, we can mix outside of school' - in a sense, come out of lockdown around the school opening."
