51Âþ»­

Now that the Prime Minister has escalated the COVID-19 crisis to move the country towards a full lockdown to combat the outbreak, we’re closing the campus – apart from essential services - from 3pm today. This means we’re bringing forward the planned closure of The Library in Eric Wood building and Riverside Café to close at the time stated above.

We will all now be working and studying from home for the foreseeable future. I want to express my sincere thanks for the way that you have all responded to this crisis and the patience and understanding that you have all shown in transitioning to a new way of studying and learning. 

None of us have experienced anything remotely close to this before so we really are in uncharted territory. At this time, the most important thing is that we all closely follow Government advice to stop the virus spreading so that our loved ones and the wider community remain safe and well. Many staff and students have asked whether they can volunteer for the NHS which is truly humbling and, of course, we are doing everything we can to support this as our health system will be under unprecedented strain in the coming weeks and months. We’ll be sharing more information on this very soon if others would like to volunteer too at the NHS or for other key services at this time.

Our crisis management group has been meeting daily and one of our priorities has been to support students remaining on campus, either through choice or if you’re unable to return home due to travel restrictions. I want to reassure everyone in this situation that we will do all we can to ensure you’re looked after.

A first step in this is that we have set up a closed so you can find out all of the latest advice and guidance. It’s also a place for you to chat to other students who remain at 51Âþ»­, sharing your experiences and tips for dealing with the latest situation. If you don’t have Facebook then you will be able to get in touch with us via email. For more information on this, please keep an eye on our daily updates later in the week.

We will continue to post operational updates on the Coronavirus Advice and Information website. And, we will continue to communicate with staff and students regularly via this microsite and other key online channels.

Finally, I would like to say a big thanks for the way all of you have adapted so quickly to such a profound change to the way you study and live your lives. I am incredibly proud of the way our students are playing their part in the national drive to protect public health.

Please do all you can to stay safe and well until we are able to return to normality.

With best wishes,

Andy