Seán Twomey: The start of this school year, let's give each other some space

Without seeing each other's faces and the fun parts of school, will we be reverting back to the factory model of education, asks Seán Twomey, principal of St Aloysius’ College, Carrigtwohill, Co  Cork

We are asking students to come back to school wearing a mask every time they are inside 2m of another person

Schools have been frantic places for the past month, getting ready to try and implement the new Covid-19 requirements and ensure physical distancing within classrooms. It has been a huge challenge for many secondary schools.

In our school it has meant ripping our timetable apart and rebuilding it with split breaks and lunchtimes, removing over 800 lockers and double desks into storage, installing sanitisation units in all rooms, and planning different drop zones in the morning for year groups and one-way systems on stairs and corridors. We have had to source additional classroom accommodation and extra rooms and we have cleared out a frankly incredible amount of materials and furniture and, sadly, lots of books.