King's Worcester

19 March

Thank you to our Covid Testing Volunteers

A massive thank you to all our fantastic staff and parent volunteers who have helped in our school Covid Testing Centre over the past three months. Testing has enabled staff members to work since January with confidence and has now allowed pupils to return safely and securely.

Our testing team converted our 900 year old College Hall into a testing centre with 12 bays intended to test our staff members and pupils. Our team of staff and volunteers worked together to meet and greet staff and pupils, register them, supervise and aid the testing process, process the Lateral Flow tests and record the results and then uploaded them to the NHS website. (To read our ‘College Hall then and now’ news story click here).

Since Friday 5th March our test centre began testing pupils ready for their staggered return from 8th March. Our staff and volunteers helped with 20.5 hours of testing where 1,310 tests took place over three days allowing the school to fully open to all pupils by 10th March. After the final ten days of testing 850 pupils, 3,000 Covid tests were done. This is an amazing achievement and as a school, we are extremely grateful for all the hard work our staff and volunteers put into making this system so efficient and safe for all staff and pupils.

I am immensely proud to be Headmaster of a school where we have set up a successful testing programme allowing staff to continue to work and pupils to return to school in a safe and efficient manner. I am incredibly grateful and thankful to all the committed staff and volunteers who have worked extremely hard to make this possible. From everyone at King’s: thank you.” Mr Doodes, Headmaster.

I was delighted to be involved with the Covid testing team at King’s. It’s fair to say the first day felt a bit like starting a new job, but we were made instantly at home and warmly welcomed by the Kings staff. It took a few days but the testing process was soon second nature as we became familiar with the PPE requirements and test kits. The testing was made all the more enjoyable by the approach of the students, who were always friendly, willing and came in with a smile. The last few days, albeit extremely busy, were particularly enjoyable as the school began to fill with students and come back to life. I will take away a new bunch of friends and the memories of valiant attempts to swab without gagging! ” Mrs L Driver, Parent Volunteer.

“Way back when we were training in January on freezing dark mornings, and then testing key worker children and staff, we always knew that this very intense week of full-time testing would be coming at some point, coinciding with welcoming our pupils back to school. It turned out to be really fun and energising working with a fantastic team of parents and staff on this superbly run project. The camaraderie between testers was lovely, and the pupils all seemed to take it in their stride; the whole atmosphere was so positive and purposeful, and I am very glad to have been part of it.” Mrs Jeffery, Head Librarian (Staff Volunteer)

Thank you again to all our members of staff and parent volunteers for all the time and effort put into the testing process at King’s and for helping create a much safer environment for us all to work in.

To see more about how King’s is keeping safe during this time, see our Keeping King’s Safe page.