THE principal of York College has written a letter to students outlining the approach it will take from September.

In the letter, Lee Probert said the college is following guidance issued by the government to plan for its reopening.

Students will continue to access their courses through "blended learning."

Mr Probert said students can expect full access to their course through face to face delivery, in small groups onsite at York College, as well as live teaching, via Microsoft Teams, and access to independent learning resources.

"How we divide up your course across these ways of learning will depend on a number of factors: the level of your course, your individual support needs and the amount of practical content within your course," he explained.

"Once you have been through the college’s enrolment process, our teaching teams will be able to explain to you how your timetable will work during your induction. However your course is structured, our normal high expectations around attendance and engagement will apply. You can also expect to receive the same high quality learning experience, supported by skilled and experienced staff.

"If we need to make changes to the way your course is delivered, we’ll only make changes once a half term and only if the evidence suggests it’s safe enough for us to do so."

The college's campus will feel a little different from September, Mr Probert said.

In the majority of classes, students will all face the front of the room and teaching staff will work in a socially distanced way – staying two metres away from students and other staff.

There will be no queuing outside classrooms, staff and students will go straight in.

Moving around the building will be controlled by arrows.

Café areas will have reduced seating and a reduced offer, "so you might prefer to bring your own food and drink and remain in your class with your classmates during lunchtime," Mr Probert said.

Other onsite services such as counselling, careers guidance and the Learning Centre, may only be available by appointment.

Mr Probert added: "We’ll all have an increased role in keeping college clean, which means we’ll have to wash our hands more often and use the wipes and sprays provided to wipe down our own workstations – in support of the extra cleaning our cleaning colleagues will do."

He said there is no requirement to wear a face covering on campus, but students who chose to do so will be shown how to wear, remove and store it safely.

"You will need to wear one if you’re using our transport, public transport or leaving campus during your break to go to the shop," he said.

He concluded by saying: "As we all adjust to a new way of working and learning, our commitment remains firmly on supporting you to be successful in securing your qualification and progressing.

We hope that as the academic year progresses, we’ll be able to increase the number of staff and students on campus and increase the amount of face to face delivery – at all times though, we’ll prioritise the highest quality education, whilst keeping everyone as safe as possible."