Do you have a link for that please.

Originally Posted by: llamedos 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-52732814

Originally Posted by: fairweather 

At least the longer term effects are being reported now.
Originally Posted by: four 

OMG - Cambridge University are having only distance learning for students for whole of next year !!! If other universities follow suit at this early stage it will be a national disgrace. We've wiped out a fair few of the elderly now we may be throwing away a whole life experience for our youngsters. I just can't imagine how devastated 18 year olds will be. They have lost the experience and excitement of doing their A'levels and to have this snatched away from them is unimaginable. At the very worst i thought there would be a term by term review. Furthermore they intend to charge the full tuition fee.

Originally Posted by: fairweather 

The National Education Union is providing plenty of ammunition - they look petulant, when they should be engaging in a constructive manner.

Originally Posted by: Maunder Minimum 

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/cambridge-university-lectures-online-2021-a4445391.html EDIT also see FW's post above

Having been at Cambridge many years ago, the experience of sitting in a lecture theatre with (in one case) 150 other students was one part of the experience that I could easily have foregone - and after a while, attendances dropped off anyway. The implication of the teaching in small groups is that students will still be in residence so that the really valuable learning aspects of supervisions (Oxford: tutorials), seminars, and simply arguing in informal small groups will still exist. I hope someone can also work out the mechanics of making possible the sports and social activities.

Originally Posted by: DEW 

As a teacher I think it's definitely possible for schools to open up to a larger group of pupils in a safe way. The problem I have is that it just won't happen in that way. 

It would make perfect sense for Yr6 and either Yr 4 or 5 to return because these children would have an understanding of social distancing and basic hygiene. Reception and Yr 1 much less so. Find out which children can remain separate from old or vulnerable relatives and use staff under 40 with no underlying health conditions. Everyone knows that won't happen.

A sober analysis of the evidence shows that (on current understanding) there is very little danger to children and very little danger to staff under 40. But that's not the point, the real danger is an increase in transmission rates. We don't know enough about the virus but we do know that with many other viruses schools act as rapid areas of transmission. You should also remember that if parents return to work many children are looked after by grandparents. Opening schools without a track and trace system when infection rates are still so high - far higher than Spain and Italy - is a gamble; an experiment with people's lives, simple as that.

Originally Posted by: Northern Sky 

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/cambridge-university-lectures-online-2021-a4445391.html EDIT also see FW's post above

Having been at Cambridge many years ago, the experience of sitting in a lecture theatre with (in one case) 150 other students was one part of the experience that I could easily have foregone - and after a while, attendances dropped off anyway. The implication of the teaching in small groups is that students will still be in residence so that the really valuable learning aspects of supervisions (Oxford: tutorials), seminars, and simply arguing in informal small groups will still exist. I hope someone can also work out the mechanics of making possible the sports and social activities.

Originally Posted by: DEW 

 As a teacher I think it's definitely possible for schools to open up to a larger group of pupils in a safe way. The problem I have is that it just won't happen in that way. 

It would make perfect sense for Yr6 and either Yr 4 or 5 to return because these children would have an understanding of social distancing and basic hygiene. Reception and Yr 1 much less so. Find out which children can remain separate from old or vulnerable relatives and use staff under 40 with no underlying health conditions. Everyone knows that won't happen.

A sober analysis of the evidence shows that (on current understanding) there is very little danger to children and very little danger to staff under 40. But that's not the point, the real danger is an increase in transmission rates. We don't know enough about the virus but we do know that with many other viruses schools act as rapid areas of transmission. You should also remember that if parents return to work many children are looked after by grandparents. Opening schools without a track and trace system when infection rates are still so high - far higher than Spain and Italy - is a gamble; an experiment with people's lives, simple as that.

Originally Posted by: Northern Sky 

OMG - Cambridge University are having only distance learning for students for whole of next year !!! If other universities follow suit at this early stage it will be a national disgrace. We've wiped out a fair few of the elderly now we may be throwing away a whole life experience for our youngsters. I just can't imagine how devastated 18 year olds will be. They have lost the experience and excitement of doing their A'levels and to have this snatched away from them is unimaginable. At the very worst i thought there would be a term by term review. Furthermore they intend to charge the full tuition fee.

Originally Posted by: fairweather 

That's not true.

They are moving lectures online. Students will still be in Cambridge and have small group teaching (supervisions).

Also, moving teaching online will cost more than retaining face to face lectures. I don't see why having lectures online should mean lower fees.

Originally Posted by: NickR 

The descision to offload care home residents from hospitals with suspected COVID to care homes were descisions made by NHS middle management.

It is fashionable to always critisize the government, that is the public scapegoat of choice. But why? Why does the NHS get a free pass for its incredible levels of incompetence during this crisis? Why does PHE get a free pass for refusing to expand testing?

Had Labour been in government things would largelly be the same, because the problems are routed in the NHS and the civil service and have little to do with broad policy objectives which were determined from independent scientific advice anyway.

Originally Posted by: Quantum 

OMG - Cambridge University are having only distance learning for students for whole of next year !!! If other universities follow suit at this early stage it will be a national disgrace. We've wiped out a fair few of the elderly now we may be throwing away a whole life experience for our youngsters. I just can't imagine how devastated 18 year olds will be. They have lost the experience and excitement of doing their A'levels and to have this snatched away from them is unimaginable. At the very worst i thought there would be a term by term review. Furthermore they intend to charge the full tuition fee.

Originally Posted by: fairweather 

Yes, Nick. I wasn't sure but I thought it was implyng that there would effectively be no "in house" admissions and the remote learning would be from home. That is what I feared and that would have been a disaster, especially if applied to the provincial university.

Originally Posted by: fairweather 

I was an undergrad for 4 years. Every single October without fail I would get ill. Typically througout the rest of the year I would get ill perhaps 0-1 times but every October like clockwork I'd get freshers flu. Some of the time it was just a bad cold, in my first year it was so bad I thought I had meningitis (I had all the symptoms).

And while there is some evidence that younger children may lack the ability to spread COVID the evidence is much weaker for young adults and older teenagers. Putting lectures online and avoiding a freshers flu type epidemic in the universities is emminently sensible. Hell even if young adults are not good vectors for transmission of COVID it can't hurt to stamp down on freshers flu during this crisis.

Also compare primary schools which are largelly local to universities which students apply for based on prestige. Oxford/Cambridge are attended because they are good not because people live in Oxford or Cambridge.

So yes I'm fully in favour of having lectures online. Cambridge did the right thing.

Originally Posted by: Quantum 

Why not forfeit the rest of the academic year and simply introduce outdoor sports and recreation classes between now and September? To me that would offer the best of all worlds. Parents get shot of their kids for a while and the kids get something which will improve their general health. The dangers of transmission are also reduced because the activities are in the open air. 

Originally Posted by: Brian Gaze