education

'I would hate it if I was a fresher': UK students on life during Covid

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With restrictions constantly changing because of rising infection rates and universities having to introduce measures to mitigate against the spread of coronavirus, students in the UK are having to come to terms with an unpredictable life under Covid-19.

Most students who got in touch with the Guardian via a callout expressed concern about the impact on their studies. Many said they were disappointed much of their learning had gone online, with many lectures, seminars and even tutorials being pre-recorded.

Mahnoor, who does not want her surname to be published, is a first year student at Sheffield University and disappointed by the lack of activities during freshers’ week. “There are some online quizzes but I think there needs to be more going on. It feels like we’ve been left to our own devices.”

Her timetable is not finalised but Mahnoor has two one-hour online lessons next week when term starts. “When we’re paying as much as we are, I think we should have more hours. It’s disappointing that students have to move into accommodation and start their courses online. It’s hard to socialise with people other than those in your flat because of Covid, never mind the difficulty of already being away from family.”

Keave Perera.

Keave Perera is in her final year studying history at Leeds University.

For Keave Perera, a final year history student at Leeds University, it is going to be “completely different from anything we’ve experienced before”.

“It’s going to be hard not being able to socialise with people outside our household, especially as there’s only four of us and my boyfriend lives elsewhere,” she said.

Perera has four hours of contact time a week with two hours planned on being face to face. “I think some of the tutorials will be in person but the university is still reviewing it,” said the 21-year-old. “The hardest thing for me is not being able to use the library when I want as it’s difficult working in my room and there isn’t much private space in the house.”

Study space is at a premium with library spaces now limited and having to be booked in advance. “I always thought of my tuition as a very expensive library membership, but now it’s not even that,” she said.

“It’s going to be annoying but at least I had two years of relative normality. I think I would hate it if I was a fresher. Last year our classes and exams were cancelled because of lockdown so we’re all just hoping we can return to some kind of normality in the second semester.”

Edinburgh University student Leah Wolf in Glasgow Botanic Gardens last week.

Edinburgh University student Leah Wolf in Glasgow Botanic Gardens during the summer. Photograph: Leah Wolf

For some students the introduction of new online learning arrangements has been a welcome change. Leah Wolf, 21, a final year physics student at Edinburgh University, has a learning difficulty and finds lecture theatres a “distracting” environment. She said online learning had helped improve her ability to study.

“I have ADHD [attention deficit hyperactivity disorder] and before Covid happened, it made going around the university and going into different places really difficult,” she said. “I would need time to get settled and I would lose a lot of time. Now I can watch [pre-recorded] lectures at 1.5x speed, with breaks, in the comfort of my home rather than a crammed lecture theatre with barely any desk space for taking notes on and constant distractions.”

Wolf is happy she doesn’t have to interact with other students more than necessary and said most of her friends were careful with social distancing. However, she has concerns that not all students are adhering to the “rule of six”.

“I have seen huge crowds of students hanging together in large groups,” she said. “I went to one party and there were quite a few people there, many more than six, and I left because I felt uncomfortable.”

Other students echoed Wolf’s concerns. At Manchester University, sociology student George, a sociology student who did not want his surname to be published, was due to start this term but is looking to defer his place.

“On the first night I moved into student accommodation my flatmates invited 20 other students into our flat for a party,” he said. “I have Crohn’s disease so already had some concerns moving to a city but I thought I could mostly stay in my room and it would be OK.”

George ended up having panic attacks because of the party, but said he did not blame his flatmates. “I felt so overwhelmed and didn’t sleep at all that night, but they’re 18. They had quite a lot to drink and they just want to ‘do’ university like other people have.”

He is now back at home just outside York and is looking at deferring his place till next year. “I spoke to the university counsellors on campus and they offered to move me into different accommodation, but by that point I had already decided university wasn’t an option for me right now. My family are incredibly supportive but I feel a bit defeated and lost at the moment.”

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