Covid 'tipped everything upside down', remembers student

Healthcare student Miah said Covid lockdowns "tipped everything upside down"

Children whose first year at secondary school was disrupted by the Covid pandemic have spoken about struggling to "catch up" during the last four years.

Blackburn College is now welcoming some of those students - who were 11 or 12 years old and midway through Year 7 when the first lockdowns were announced in March 2020 - into further education.

The ongoing public inquiry into the pandemic will look at the impact of lockdown measures on children, including on their education.

Former High Court judge Baroness Heather Hallett said her inquiry would examine the extent to which children were considered at the time by politicians and other decision-makers.

The sudden shift to learning at home - as well as enforced social isolation - was an unprecedented challenge for pupils, parents and teachers alike.

Miah was in Year 7 when Covid hit

Miah, who is now studying healthcare and wants to work as a children's nurse, said she found herself "very behind" after lockdown measures ended.

"It just completely tipped everything upside down, because I barely spoke to anyone during Covid," she told BBC News.

"Then when I got back I was completely off track of what I needed to do.

"By the second lockdown, it was just a case of losing your motivation for it because you were at home."

Miah, who moved schools to gain extra support, considers herself "very lucky" to have ended up on her college course.

Meanwhile Kian, who wants to be a joiner, said that while he felt he managed to adapt to home learning, that period of his life was not without its challenges.

"It had a bit more of an impact because obviously the teachers weren't there to help you," he explained.

Daisy said some of her classmates really struggled

While the majority of pupils had to study from home, key workers' children were allowed to attend school.

Daisy, who hopes to join the police, was one of them.

She noticed the impact of the pandemic on her classmates.

"A lot of people who were isolating at home became a lot more anti-social," she said.

"Everyone who joined secondary school at the same time as me all had a disadvantage on their schoolwork through the first two years."

Media and film student Blossom said: "I felt like I was behind in the following years but my school was really good at catching me up."