Is it really worth keeping schools open during the pandemic?

By Isaac Cook

Currently, as we are amidst the pandemic and subsequent lock down many people wonder whether schools should be closed in order to slow the virus. The decision to keep schools open has been met with its fair share of criticism as many feel that it is simply too dangerous to let so many people mix. 

As current statistics show, the trend is not looking good for Britain. Cases as well as deaths are on the rise even after the introduction of the second lockdown and it doesn't look like it is going to improve any time soon. Many areas in the north like Manchester are already considering the idea of closing schools to avoid a tier 3 lockdown during Christmas as they believe that doing so will be best for the region

So, this brings up the obvious question of whether or not we should keep the schools open.

Whilst it may seem like a no brainer to some, the effects of closing the schools could be disastrous to the country. For example, many secondary students are already behind on work and are feeling uneasy about their exams due to the previous school closing and so closing them again could set them back even further. 

Also, some students may not have a comfortable home life and so school can be a very important place for them to relax and so taking that away from them further harms the younger generation.

Things are not all bleak however, with news of a vaccine early/ mid next year means that we might not have to put up for this much longer and so the idea of keeping schools open doesn't seem like an unreasonable request. The vaccine would mean some form of return to normality in our school lives as we won't have to worry so much about bubbles or masks any more.

Adversely, the news of the travel and tier restriction being lifted for the 23rd to the 27th of December, comes with its own worries from many. While some are happy that we are getting some form of freedom, many others think it is going to be a disaster and that cases are going to rise like mad.

Whatever happens in these next few months, I believe that it would be in our best interests to keep the schools open so as to not potentially ruin the education of students. Also, I hope that we won’t have to wait too much longer until a vaccine is found which will undoubtedly help the situation massively.