It seems as if everyone has had a say on whether children should go back to school, from celebrities on social media all the way to education secretary Gavin Williamson. But no one seems to want to ask the nation’s students what they think about it.

I am 16 years old. I believe that learning from home in lockdown has significantly disadvantaged students who will likely be taking exams next year in Years 10 and 12.

However, I think young people should only be in schools if it is safe: there has not been enough of a drastic decrease in deaths from coronavirus in the UK yet for that to be a possibility.

Unworkable solutions 

Social distancing in a school environment is impossible. I can remember when our prime minister encouraged students to stay one and a half metres apart before schools were closed in March, and teachers and pupils just laughed because - in an already cramped classroom - there was no way those measures could be adhered to.

With the funding cuts many schools have faced because of austerity, headteachers do not have the staff or the space to be able to effectively prevent the virus while educating their entire cohort. You cannot limit the number of pupils per classroom, because there is nowhere for the rest to go.

Risk to all 

Moreover, endangering students’ lives by putting them in close contact with their peers for seven hours a day by extension puts the lives of parents and other relatives in danger.

So, this 16-year-old’s view is that it would do more harm than good to re-open schools on a wide scale, despite the lack of motivation that many pupils are currently struggling with.

But what about other students? I asked several peers for their opinions on returning to school, social distancing and their worries about the coronavirus.

Missed learning

George, Year 7, said: “I would feel confident going back to school as long as people do not break the rules. I think it would help people’s learning if we returned to school.

“I would want to social distance because I do not want others to contract the virus because children are not social distancing. I feel that we have missed out on the social part of learning because we are not interacting with teachers while at school.

“However, we are still being provided with the same work as usual, which is better than no work at all. I do want to go back to school full time but, if it means risking contraction, I would not return until the appropriate time.”

Safety concerns 

Mia, Year 9, said: “Right now, I don’t feel as if it would be safe to go back to school. If we were to go back, I think social distancing would be necessary, but I don’t know how achievable that would be.”

When asked if she felt she had been missing out on learning because of lockdown, she answered: “No, I don’t feel like I’ve missed out on anything because I have all the work and resources that I need to get my work done.”

On the question of returning to school before the summer holidays, she commented: “Yes, but I think it would depend on if there was a big improvement [in safety].”

Year 10 student Ayusha agreed. She said: “I would definitely want to social distance as it would reassure me that I’m still keeping safe and not putting mine or other people’s health at risk. Sometimes, even though I’ve been keeping up with all the work, I have found it has been difficult to remember new content, which was not a problem when we were at school.”

When asked if she would want return to school before the summer holidays, she said: “Yes, but only if I feel safe doing so.”

Charlie Bowden is a student at Brighton Hill School in Basingstoke