It is the last week of the school year for many in Scotland - and it is a really strange one. There are no parties, no proms, no tie ceremonies, no shirt signings, no campaign for next year’s head boy or girl, and no end-of-session staff night out.

It isn’t normal, but then this whole thing isn’t normal - so what can we do, and what have we been doing?

Parties

Well, I’d say that’s one that is hard to get past, especially in a primary school. The end-of-term party is always a biggie but it can’t happen this year. Maybe well-meaning heads could arrange an even longer party next year, assuming we are back to normal by next June.

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Prom

Again, I can’t see these happening in the near future, but I think a good solution would be to keep a group set up with the prom organisers and to host it when things are normal again, even if that means a year later. There are some downsides: the former students will have been away from school for a long time (and more of them will be able to drink alcohol), and some staff will have moved on. But I think it would mean a lot to the students if school staff would make this happen.

Shirt signing

It has been a classic thing for all P7s and S6s for years, but I’d encourage all young people and staff to take a photo of themselves holding a piece of card with their name on it and link it into a collage or montage. It is essentially the same thing and in some ways even better - you’ll remember what each person looks like in years to come and you won’t have to curse pen ink smudging in the rain on the way home.

Head girl/boy campaign

My school is already ahead of the curve on this: students have uploaded videos of their speeches for voting to take place this week, which as been simple and effective. I’d say a strong head boy and girl is needed more than ever next session.

Staff night out

I have no doubt there will be teachers desperate to offload some gossip, rant, drink and maybe even dance. But how can you recreate that in lockdown? I planned to suggest to my department we have a Zoom call “after school hours” where people could enjoy a cold glass of lemonade if they wished. With working patterns changing next session, there is a real possibility of not seeing colleagues very often, so I feel keeping some sort of social contact will be important.

None of this may be as good as the real thing, but it doesn’t mean we can’t try. Teaching has shown it is one of the world’s best professions at adapting - as we’ll keep on proving.

Adam Black is a teacher in Scotland who, in the 2019 New Year’s Honours list, received the British Empire Medal for raising awareness of stammering