It’s nearly time to go back to school, pupils are being told.
The Prime Minister has said a swift return in September is ‘vitally important‘ – and parents are now being urged to shop for shoes, buy new backpacks and grab the stationery kits.
Education facilities are all set to reopen as planned, and for many, this news will come as something of a relief.
Teaching effectively during coronavirus has been like trying to navigate choppy waters in a midnight storm, and both teachers and parents will be grateful for some stability that the school return will bring.
Nonetheless, the disruption of the past six months or so has led to new measures being introduced in schools and colleges.
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These are designed to support any pupils hoping to catch up on missed work, offer children opportunities to resit exams and, most importantly of all, keep everyone in education protected.
Here’s what families should know right now about going back to school.
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Exam resits
Any pupils who ended up with grades at GCSE or A Level they were ultimately unhappy with will be able to retake these tests in the autumn.
Pupils should speak to their teachers/schools as soon as possible in order to arrange resits.
The registration deadline for retaking A Levels is September 4, with resits taking place in October.
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Those wanting to retake GCSEs must register by September 18 (except English and Maths, for which the deadline is October 4) to resit in November.
New assessment for Year 6 pupils
New compulsory assessments are being introduced for all pupils starting Year 6 in September 2020.
Occurring in summer 2021, these tests aim to determine how much learning children have lost due to COVID-19 whilst also prepping them for the step up to secondary school.
The Government commented: “Children and young people have missed a critical period of their education due to schools having to close to the majority of pupils to control the spread of coronavirus.
“It is vital that we better understand the impact of coronavirus on children’s education and give support to schools that need it the most.”
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Classes and curriculum
On its website, the Government has stated that the school curriculum should ‘remain broad’ so that ‘the majority of pupils are taught a full range of subjects over the year, including sciences, humanities, the arts, physical education/sport, religious education and relationships and health education.’
COVID-19 measures however are likely to impact a number of classes, and the Government has published general guidance for education facilities on how to keep a full curriculum.
Regarding the subject of PE, which could potentially be seen as trickier to control, the Government added: “Schools have the flexibility to decide how physical education, sport and physical activity will be provided whilst following the measures in their system of controls.”
Face masks
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Face coverings have now been made mandatory for pupils Year 7 and above in schools in high-risk areas, such as Greater Manchester.
Pupils and staff will be asked to wear face coverings in corridors and other communal areas where social distancing is challenging.
Yellow weather warning issued for Parklife weekend with thunderstorms forecast
Daisy Jackson
A yellow weather warning has been issued for Greater Manchester over the weekend – just as Parklife festival gets underway.
The Met Office has predicted thunderstorms may hit the region on Saturday, the first day of the two-day party up at Heaton Park.
There’s a yellow weather warning in place across much of the UK over the coming days, but it doesn’t come into force in Greater Manchester until Saturday.
The Met Office is currently predicting wet weather for Parklife festival-goers on day one, with a 70% chance of light rain from the time the gates open until early evening.
It’s then might to brighten up and is likely to be dry, if a little cloudy, into the evening.
The yellow weather warning for thunderstorms is in place from midnight until 6pm on Saturday 14 June.
Temperatures are expected to peak at around 21°C
As for Sunday at Parklife, which will be headlined by none other than Charli XCX, the weather is looking a lot more settled, if a bit cooler.
There are forecasted highs of 18°C and lows of 12°.
While the day will begin quite overcast, it’s expected to really brighten up with sunny intervals in the afternoon and into the evening.
Back in 2023, when thunderstorms hit Manchester during Parklife, the entire festival had to be momentarily halted.
On that occasion, festival-goers were told to ‘keep away from metal structures’ and all the live music was paused.
Poundland facing ‘significant store closures’ after being sold for just £1
Danny Jones
Long-standing British bargain brand Poundland could be set to close a number of locations across the UK after being sold for just £1.
The franchise famed for selling things for just a quid has been a mainstay on the high streets for what feels like it’s been around for as long as most of us can remember, but has been struggling to compete in the discount market.
Opened in 1990, Poundland was eventually bought by Polish variety store chain Pepco Group back in 2016, but has now been auctioned off after struggling sales over the past few years.
As per a press release from the company, Pepco decided to sell the business to American investment firm Gordon Brothers for what reports cited as a “nominal fee” – a figure now revealed to be £1.
Credit: The Manc Group
Poundland’s former boss, Barry Williams, left the brand in 2023 but was reinstated in at the start of this year to help the business and the Group’s European counterparts (Pepco and Dealz).
Sharing an official update with The Manc, the returning MD and CEO said, “Poundland is a UK and Ireland retailer of real significance, serving 20 million customers each year with a much-loved brand.
“Although recent trading has been challenging, we have built a turnaround plan with a simplified and more focused Poundland at its heart, as we aim to deliver the amazing value our customers expect.
“In due course, we’ll share more details of the proposed restructuring and turnaround. I’d like to thank Pepco for its stewardship of the business. We welcome Gordon Brothers and look forward to working with them as we implement our turnaround plan.”
As for Gordon Bros themselves, the American group with outposts all over the globe, says it is “delighted” to be providing the bargain brand with “the financing to support the substantial turnaround of this iconic retailer.”
Even with their own hardships, Poundland stores have still been providing a much-needed cut-price place to shop for those looking to save wherever they can amid the cost of living crisis, not to mention taking over previous Wilko stores and helping bail out others in need.
Before Poundland were sold, they also helped prop-up those hit by the Wilkos falling into administration.
According to Retail Gazette, an approximate £80 million cash injection has been pledged to help support their 800 stores and roughly 16,000 staff across the UK and Ireland.
Nevertheless, BBC sources understand that the even with the new backing, the proposed restructuring of the company which will be put before the High Court here in England could still “involve a significant number of store closures.”
Meanwhile, an official statement from Pepco’s Stephan Borchert reads: “The agreed sale of Poundland marks an important milestone in our strategic plan to move away from FMCG and focus predominantly on Pepco, our higher margin clothing and general merchandise business…
“Poundland remains a key player in UK discount retail, with millions of customers annually and a well-loved brand and proposition. We want to sincerely thank Poundland for their ongoing commitment and contribution to the Group and wish Barry Williams and his team all the best for the future.”
The Manc -
25th August 2020 
