The head teacher of Scotland’s newest secondary has warned pupils not to treat this lengthy school closure like a snow day.
Bertha Park High School in Perth is one of just 17 Microsoft flagship schools across the world, so is arguably the best prepared school in the country for distance learning.
Just this week English teacher Mrs Hamilton taught her classes from the comfort of her own home as she self-isolated.
Thanks to the power of technology, she was able to sit in front of a webcam on her home computer and teach her classes sat in her Bertha Park classroom via teleconferencing and see what all her pupils were doing.
Head teacher Stuart Clyde reassured the PA there was a member of staff physically in the classroom at all times too.
He said: “She even took the register from home. I was there for the first class and expected to have more to do than she did.”
Mr Clyde is confident his Perth school can maintain that good level of distance learning over the coming months. He said: “We use a lot of these tools in our school anyway.”
The school has been preparing for the inevitable closure as the coronavirus (COVID-19) situation develops.
From next week, it will operate a revised timetable with pupils expected to be in front of their computers at particular times and Mr Clyde says this is where parents will play a key role.
He said: “The onus of having young people engaging switches from teachers to parents.”
He also stressed: “This is not a snow day. This is a complete change of the way everyone engages in their learning. All my colleagues have been working flat out.”
