Dear Britannica Parents,


May I offer all our parents my sincerest wishes for the health and safety of your families during this challenging time. As a community, our hearts go out to those who have been directly affected, which we very much hope includes none of our immediate Britannica family.

During this challenging time, it is important that we remain in good contact with each other, to ensure that mutual support and advice is available. I am therefore writing to you today, on behalf of the school and Orbital Education, to update you on our school response plan.

I gain confidence in the supportive community that I know we have at the school, and in the good relationships that we have between staff and with our parents, and which become extra important during such challenges.

I am in regular contact with all staff colleagues who are currently in Shanghai, China and abroad, and all are safe and well.

I am currently in Shanghai myself, and will remain here to support colleagues, continue to regularly update all staff and parents and ensure the school continues to respond to any changing situation. If you have any questions or concerns, then do please feel to contact me by email, as I am in the office most days.

Please also be reassured that I am in continuous daily contact with Orbital Head Office back in the UK and our School Admin, to ensure that we are all aware of any changing circumstances and that we continue to review and update our response plans if necessary.

I gain much confidence in the policies and procedures instigated by the CCP and Local Authority in regard to how they are managing the current situation. I am also extremely pleased to see the proactive action that Shanghai residents are taking in securing their own safety and that of others.


In school we have plans in place to upgrade all hygiene and health monitoring procedures in readiness for when staff and students return. Which will include:

1. Increase the number of gel-santizer dispensers around school and the frequency with which students and staff use these.

2. The disinfection of all door handles, bannisters and light switches, multiple times during the day.

3. Decrease the time between the cleaning of other facilities during the school day.

4. Deep cleaning of the school each evening.

5. Stop all large group activities within school, to minimise inter-student contact.

6. Monitor student health and temperature when they get on the bus each morning.

7. Monitor staff, parent and student health and temperature when entering the campus.

8. Deny access to campus to all non-parent visitors.

9. Cancel all external and internal visits and trips.


To ensure the continued education of your children, from the original planned first day of term, all staff will be preparing and monitoring distance-learning tasks from Monday 10th February. This will enable your child to complete tasks at home. For children in Reception upwards, they will need access to the internet to complete these. These distance-learning tasks will be managed and overseen by our Year Leads and Heads of Phase, and conversations are already taking place between staff on how these will be provided.

As notified last week, and in-line with current local authority guidance, we still plan to open our doors to welcome students back into school from Monday 17th February. If we have any late returning students, we will be able to continue to provide distance-learning tasks for them.

Meanwhile, I wish all of you a continued restful and safe vacation, wherever you may currently be.

Any further update to our response will be shared with you.


Kind Regards,

David Goodwin

Principal