University students possibly told to stay at uni over Christmas

[WearyandBleary]

This has just been leaked and Matt Hancock has done a non-denial.

This has shocked me. Why not tell old people to stay at home over Christmas instead? The mental health of our students is going to be horrific.

My children will have eye tests booked so they'll be ok to travel.😇

It won’t happen. All of the 20 somethings at my work went home to their parents at the start of lockdown including people flying over to NI. They didn’t want to spend lockdown in grotty house shares and I very much doubt the bulk of students would stay in halls etc if they had the option of getting home.

@poppingnostopping - I completely agree with you. I’m sure that my DS is one of those saying to you that he needed to get away from his bedroom after 5 months in it. It might be that he’s mostly just stuck in a different room, but he seems to be finding “enough” to do to make him cheerful and appreciative of the change, and is able to mix with enough people to have a new experience. I also worry a bit about the people who deferred and stayed at home on the hope that next year would be “better” - that’s setting up a big expectation load that might not come good for a whole bunch of reasons, COVID or non-COVID related.

Why not wait and see what happens? We dont need to go "max drama" for every rumour do we.

I beg to differ, ithink humans enjoy discussing rumours!

Deviating slightly off topic .....what about boarding schools? Will they be affected too?

Surely if the gov't don't want swathes of students moving around the country, a similar argument applies to the albeit smaller number of boarders?

Yet another example of policy making in the hoof. It can't be confirmed or denied because until he was asked it was obviously a topic that had not been thought of. The gov't is lurching from crisis to crisis saying the first thing that comes to mind and the trying to retrofit policy/guidance to fit.

It's an absolute shitshow!

They can't enforce it realistically - what are they going to do? Lock them physically into their halls of residence? Not all unis even HAVE their own halls of residence - the one I'm at only owns one and the rest are privately owned and the uni just runs the accommodation allocation through for the freshers.

Demand they all trot off up to campus to swipe in every day of the vacation and prove they're still there?! Well some of us (like me) commute in as and when and don't even HAVE a registered termtime address.

Most they can do is some kind of quarantine before you leave thing - which again, is bloody unlikely since loads slope off home before the end of term anyway as the timetable reduces down that last week or so.

The halls dd is at is shared by students from different universities/colleges.

@DominaShantotto

They can't enforce it realistically - what are they going to do? Lock them physically into their halls of residence? Not all unis even HAVE their own halls of residence - the one I'm at only owns one and the rest are privately owned and the uni just runs the accommodation allocation through for the freshers.

Demand they all trot off up to campus to swipe in every day of the vacation and prove they're still there?! Well some of us (like me) commute in as and when and don't even HAVE a registered termtime address.

Most they can do is some kind of quarantine before you leave thing - which again, is bloody unlikely since loads slope off home before the end of term anyway as the timetable reduces down that last week or so.

I can't imagine universities would be particularly up for being expected to provide that level of enforcement either. Where would the staff come from? No point making any swiping or registration or whatever remote!

Students also come home in the holidays to work. My 2 uni students have student contracts with our local supermarket, there are many more that do the same. They work all holidays to earn money for when they're back in uni. Forgetting about Christmas as such, If they cant come home in the holidays to work it's going to be a nightmare for them financially.

The news has just announced that Scottish students are not allowed to travel home NOW (not sure what time this rule kicks in, but I imagine that there are lots of distressed young adults and families.

Surely this was a risk though going to university, as aren't you making a household with the group of students in your house etc, so if you can't mix households you might not be able to go home.

My child will come home whenever they need to. Anyone telling me they can't can get stuffed. I spend every day with 1,800 of other people's kids.i won't be kept apart from my own.

tbh, DD peeved me so much just before her drop off that I am quite welcoming this plan. DD might be fine with it too, if her whole new social circle stay in halls, too.

I don't have a Uni age child but my reaction to that is absolutely no way.

The government are actually very close to people saying fuck it IMO.

@mumsneedwine

My child will come home whenever they need to. Anyone telling me they can't can get stuffed. I spend every day with 1,800 of other people's kids.i won't be kept apart from my own.

I hope this works out for you. It's not guaranteed.

I hope this works out for you. It's not guaranteed.

Meaning the accommodation you paid for is also effectively a prison. Lovely. You don't even have to pay to go to one of HM's actual prisons. All for a virus that killed TWO in Scotland. TWO.

Unfuckingbelievable.

Some Scottish Unis started back 1-2 weeks ago so incidence obviously peaking now....just wait till rest of U.K. catch up in a month's time once English/Welsh students have mingled

@WokesFromHome no one keeps me away from my child. I'll go to prison if they try. So that's one less teacher. How dare they lock up the students - if they were going to do this they needed to tell everyone before they started as none would. One of mine is a medic. You try telling her she can't come home.

How do they get food ? Do their washing ? No family or friends nearby to help. What do Unis intend to do ? No one else is locked up so why are students ? Pubs are open so how dare they tell adults they can't go to one. Or are they going to wait for the suicides before being sensible ? I am so so angry.

Unless they weld the doors and windows shut, this is totally unenforceable. Much ado about nothing.

@Aquamarine1029 but scary for 18 year olds away from home for first time

Surely this isn't particular to students tho - its just what we would be expecting from everyone if by then we are not allowed to mix households, which seems almost a given doesn't it? If your student dc live away then they are not part of your household, and households can't mix. ( I know they can in most parts of England at the moment, but I think that will be the next restriction placed on all of us, not just students). Only get out might be if your student dc live alone, rather than in shared accommodation, then you could bubble with them.

@janetmendoza then Unis will close next week as most kids will come home. No point staying. Some common sense is needed here or the mental health implications will outweigh Covid. I find it bonkers as schools are open so why not Unis ?

And this exactly the same as it was in March when we couldn't mix households. Any student who missed the boat and didn't get home in time couldn't then come home. My dnephew deliberately left it too late and had to stay until households could mix again. Which made him very happy!

Universities are not going to close, don't be ridiculous.