Year 9 English pupils have been targeting using advanced vocabulary – words like embrace, immerse, despair and debris. Mr Hart Dyke asked his pupils to write a paragraph on their experiences of online learning. Here are some of the responses…

​​​​​​​The Vicious Virus – Max Wheeler

For weeks I have now been on lockdown, trapped inside the surroundings of my four walls. The only company I have is my family. As much as I like being with them, being trapped with my little irritating sister and bothersome brother is becoming aggravating. I escape to the garden where I immerse myself in my rugby. For moments I forget I am in isolation, feeling the fresh air and enjoying the splendid sunshine. I tramp around kicking the ball but it’s not the same as being on the pitch with my teammates.

When will we ever emerge from this surreal, suffocating situation? The feeling of despair and not seeing my close friends is hard. When will the debris of the Corona Virus be cleared? When will we return to our normal lives again? Who knows.

Max’s sister, although not a Bethany pupil, shared her response…

Covid-19 Please go away – Sienna Wheeler

Covid-19 I think has got to most people now has it not? The main thing that has got to me the most is not seeing the heart-warming smiles on my friends faces. They were the ones that were the highlight of my day. Even just being one hour apart from them feels like months bearing in mind It’s only been five weeks. One thing I don’t miss is my brothers though. I just want them to go back to school already. I also really miss my feet getting lost to the music in dance. Dance was my place where I could release my emotion and disappear into the music. I hope we all get back to normality very soon – whatever that is.

This Strangest Thing – Will Butters

This is the strangest thing that any of us have ever experienced. It has made me feel a lot of different emotions. At the beginning it was all new and exciting, waiting to see what was going to happen, but now the reality of how many people are dying has made it much sadder and scarier. Most of us focused on when school was going to close, without thinking about the consequences. Now it has closed I’m not just missing seeing my friends, I’m also really missing all the team sports, school lunches (so is my mum!) and even the teachers! We all want life to get back to normal, but I don’t know when it will, or how it will. At least in all the despair there are many inspiring stories of how people are helping others, I hope that some of the positive changes carry on in the future.