Book for our Discovery Morning
Discovery Mornings are a chance to explore the School on a normal working day.
You and your family will tour the School in the company of one of our pupils and will meet the senior team over tea and coffee.
Junior School (Reception – Year 6):
Wednesday 15 May 8.45am – 10am
Spaces at a Discovery Morning are limited so that you can have as much time as you need to see the School at your own pace and discuss your child as an individual.
Since March 2020, we have done everything we can to make Stamford Schools as Covid secure as possible. Whilst many measures were school-wide to protect the welfare of all students, other measures were specifically implemented for our international students. Throughout, we have followed the BSA Covid Safe Charter and complied with all UK Government guidance. We recognise that Covid has been around for over two years now and will likely continue to impact international travel and families decisions as to whether to send their child to school in the UK. We have therefore created this page to summarise our provision, and to reassure families that Stamford is a safe and suitable school for your child.
Stamford implemented hand-washing stations and hand sanitiser dispensers across all three School sites to encourage regular cleaning of the hands, and to follow Government guidance on how to curb the spread of the virus.
During periods of school closure, full virtual learning was provided with a mixture of live lessons via Microsoft Teams, and students completing set work with teachers giving feedback virtually.
Once schools were allowed to re-open, we put one-way systems into place, and insisted on students, staff and all visitors wearing a mask (unless medically exempt) when this was required by Government guidance. We also enhanced the cleaning provision of all classrooms, communal areas, toilets and boarding houses. Students were placed into ‘bubbles’ to minimise the risk of transmission, and seating plans were put into place in lessons so we could better isolate classes, and minimise the number of students absent from school at any one time. In addition, we implemented staggered lunch times so that each year group could have lunch separately.
Our application process remained largely the same, as it has always been carried out remotely with applicants sitting our entrance assessment from their home country. The main adjustment Covid created was an inability to travel to tour the Schools and meet relevant members of staff in person. We therefore provided virtual tours and Zoom meetings in order to conduct applicant interviews and for families to meet key members of staff such as Boarding House Parents, Heads of Department, Head of Year, to help give a feel for the Schools despite travel limitations and restrictions.
Our international students were some of the most affected by the outbreak of Covid, with quarantine requirements and travel restrictions preventing many from returning to the UK after a school holiday, or from travelling home to see family outside of term-time.
We therefore offered quarantine provision so that, once students were able to travel, they could safely return to School and quarantine within our Boarding Houses. Travel test packages were able to be ordered to a school address and were distributed to those quarantining accordingly. Taxis were arranged to collect students who were required to quarantine upon arrival from the airport, and all taxi drivers wore a face mask and followed social distancing rules.
Stamford assisted with pre-flight testing, with local reputable testing provider Midland Health coming in to test students on school premises, as well as off-site at their testing centre in Leicester. We also accommodated arrivals from red-list countries, and adhered to all of the strict guidelines that were attached to this process.
It quickly became apparent, however, that it just wasn’t possible for many students, in particular our Hong Kong and Chinese boarders, to travel home for the school holidays. We therefore removed all exeats and widened our holiday provision, offering on-site accommodation and activity programmes during all school holidays, except Christmas and Easter. These have proven popular with lots of our students and ensure minimal hassle for families. As numerous international boarders were unable to travel home for prolonged periods of time, we also allowed students to travel home earlier than the usual end-of-term dates to enable them to navigate the specific quarantine and travel requirements for their home country, and so they could spend as much time as possible with their families back at home.
In September 2021, every senior school student was issued with a Microsoft Surface Pro 7+ device to use in class and to prepare for school tasks at home. The introduction of devices is part of a natural progression of integrating technology in schools, and so although it was a proactive initiative, when Covid struck and the UK entered lockdown, they helped immeasurably by ensuring learning could continue from home.
The devices provide flexibility and help students to develop their digital fluency, embedding habits and skills that equip them for higher education, the workplace, and their lifelong learning journey.
