Holmes Chapel students share their views on life during the coronavirus pandemic

We are featuring three articles written by students, who were asked to offer their perspective on the pandemic or political issues.

"I asked the students to produce an article on either their current situations or any political matters around the world they have found interesting," said Emily Robinson, English teacher and KS4 and KS5 English Language lead

"Apart from technical criteria they weren't given any other guidance on the content of their articles, so this is a genuine insight into the minds of year 10 students who are due to sit their exams next year, despite missing almost half a year of schooling.

"Many of them are finding the whole experience of home learning very frustrating, and knowing they could have their work published has been extremely motivating.

The articles below were written last month.

Coping during Covid-19, by Nathalie Brown

(This article is aimed at people who were already dealing with mental health issues before the quarantine)

The mental health issues we aren’t talking about.

The world we are living in is like nothing we have ever seen. So, for many people struggling with their mental health it has never been harder to cope.

One thing that is taught in therapy is how vital daily routines are. They don’t need to be anything special, but knowing what to expect when you wake up provides that feeling of control.

It’s fairly commonplace to rely on a daily schedule during recovery. Now that everything has changed, that feeling of control might have been lost.

This can cause old issues to resurface, and makes it feel like your hard work is being undone.

However, you have not lost control. You might not be able to manage the government’s rules, but you have never had the ability to do that.

Therefore, create a routine. Make set mealtimes, dedicate some time to exercises, and some to doing whatever you want, even if that’s having a nap.

You have the power to put that structure back in your life - it will be different, absolutely, but it will still be something.

Another thing to do is to try and restore a sense of normality and to keep yourself busy.

If it feels like everything has been completely thrown off and you hate the change that has happened, keep what you can of your life before.

For example, if you always ate pizza on a Friday, try buying some, or learn to make your own!

You could rewatch favourite movies and series. It’s all about that sense of familiarity. Surround yourself with things that you know well.

I’ve started to re-read the Moomins book series, which was a favourite of mine when I was a lot younger.

Conversely, now is a great opportunity to take up some new hobbies; baking and crafts are some popular choices, but do whatever appeals to you, and that you think will help you.

Having constant free time might feel like a relief at first, but it will only be detrimental in the long run. Please look out for the future you.

Lastly, care for yourself, and listen to your feelings. At the moment, there is a lot on the internet about being productive.

In fact, the paragraph previous to this is about that very thing. However, you do not need to start doing all sorts of things!

You should cope in your own way. At the end of this, you don’t need to have learned Latin, or built the Taj Mahal out of toothpicks.

It is okay to do little, if that’s what you know will help you. Whatever the internet tells you, do not do anything that will worsen how you are feeling.

This situation is personal to everyone and the suggestions in this article are just that - suggestions. Your priority should be looking after yourself.

If you feel that you are struggling, don’t silence yourself with the ‘well it’s a hard time for everyone’ line.

Please reach out and please get help from whoever you feel comfortable contacting.

If you are already dealing with your mental health, this time can be scary and damaging, but that doesn’t mean that it has to be awful.

There are simple ways that you can help yourself, and I want to stress how important it is to do so. You are strong, and you can get through this. Stay safe.

Dealing with a loss during the coronavirus, by Frankie Wood

I think the majority of us can agree that the coronavirus has all been a long waiting game.

Since the end of March when lockdown became official it has been easy to fall under the regular routine of checking on updates and reading about the progress that has been made - only to discover the ‘X’ amount of deaths that have gradually become worse...even worse if you are unable to share some last vital memories with a family member or close friend.

Although some may argue that grief is one of the hardest and most unfortunate feelings to deal with; it is so important to make sure that you speak up on how you feel.

It is easy to lose touch with your feelings, and with everything that is going on it can even worsen them.

By reaching out to someone you trust - or even writing down your thoughts - it can help you get a better understanding of how you feel, so you can reach for support if necessary.

Instead of focusing on what is no more, remember all of the memories and stories that you and your lost one may have shared.

It doesn't only get out any feelings in the open, but can also provide you with something to hold on to for support and comfort when needed.

Try talking to friends and family of your lost loved one, understand that you are never alone in these situations and by bringing up happy memories you have a chance of helping someone as well.

Times get rough for everyone in their life, it's part of growing up and understanding new situations, but sometimes people are unaware of how taking care of yourself can help a lot more than you think, you deserve it, try to relax now and again.

Distracting your mind from everything in the world is a great way to zone out and to spend some quality time on oneself.

Find things that you enjoy to do and can keep you busy. Baking, reading, art, exercise and fresh air can go a long way without you always realising.

Grief and death is something that everyone will experience at some point of their life; yet it may be one of the biggest struggles you overcome, and everyone reacts in a different approach.

Understanding that you are never alone can be a big pill to swallow, but always know that there is a rainbow to be found in every dark cloud.

Isabel Smith

Schools should stay shut, by Isabel Smith

Over the past 11 weeks we have been restricted to our houses with the exception of going out to exercise, this has helped massively to reduce the spread of coronavirus.

But now there are plans for primary schools to allow some year groups to return to school and in my opinion this shouldn't be happening.

There was a reason that schools were shut in the first place and that was primarily for safety.

Schools were shut because in an environment like that where there are so many people together in a classroom illnesses spread easily and quickly.

There has been no evidence that the virus is completely over, so why should you have to send you children to school where they could potentially bring the virus home from another child?

Because of the amount of people in a school and in one classroom at once in a large number the risk of an illness being spread is very high and this isn't a good thing when it's just the common cold let alone a virus that has killed thousands of people.

Opening the schools would leave so many more people at risk and in my opinion would set back anyone being allowed to see and family members for a long time.

If you send your child to school and someone in their class had the virus or had previously had the virus in the past two weeks you could not only be putting your child at risk but your whole family. As your child could catch the virus and bring it home.

How would you like something like that in your home stopping you from going anywhere for two weeks?

If someone in your home is an elderly for example, you live with a grandparent or you have a pregnant woman in your household, a virus like this could be fatal to them, and by sending your child to school is putting them at a higher risk than they already are.

My final point as to why schools shouldn't be reopened is to do with how unrealistic it is. How do you expect teachers to keep your young children two metres away from their friends who they haven't seen in 11 weeks?

How do you expect them from hugging each other? Playing together?

You can't because it's unrealistic to expect that to happen. There is a limited amount of space in schools and you can only separate children to a certain extent and have enough teachers to supervise them.

It would be better to keep them at home and they can keep learning and they can video chat their friends to avoid the temptation of going near each other and putting each other at risk.

Some people may say that children will be happier and less stressed by returning back to a normal routine.

But it won't be a normal routine they won't get to play with their friends, sit next to them and do all the other things that are normal to them in the same way they did before.

However, some people may say ‘what about the children of key workers?’ To that, I would say that the way things have been working the previous twelve weeks has worked.

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If you are a key worker then you can send your child to school and they are kept at a distance that is safe for them because there is only a handful of students in the school that they can keep two meters apart.

In conclusion, if you have the opportunity to send your child back to school think about how much bad it will do.

Is it really worth all the potential consequences? I would answer no. What about you?