A message from Royal Holloway, University of London, in relation to coronavirus

At Royal Holloway, University of London, we continue to closely monitor the coronavirus outbreak and follow Government advice to ensure we are playing our part in helping to manage the impact of Covid-19 on our whole community.

Our summer term ended on Friday 11 June. Thanks to students and staff for playing their part this academic year, everyone’s efforts to work within Government rules and guidance means that we have not experienced any significant outbreaks of coronavirus (Covid-19) on campus.

Throughout the year we have been considering and developing plans for the next academic year. Based on the information available to us now, we are excited to be planning to return to campus for the autumn term which starts on Monday 20 September.

We are planning a mix of face-to-face, on campus, teaching and learning support, with some digital elements. This is building on the positive feedback around taking part in digital learning from our students over the last year.

We currently expect that all legal restrictions will be removed by September and so the university, the Students’ Union and clubs and societies are planning a full programme of face-to-face events and experiences for students next term. We are also planning for facilities such as the library, gym, cafes and bars to be open and we will continue to provide a full range of student support services. We will of course follow any updated guidance issued and adapt if circumstances require it.

Over the summer holiday period, the university’s campus remains open as usual for students and staff who are living and working on campus and we are enabling prospective students to visit campus. These pre-booked activities are being offered under strict social distancing and hygiene conditions. Our events available for the general public will continue to be hosted online. For further details, please visit our events webpage.

The current Government guidance allows for groups of up to six people and two households to meet indoors and up to 30 people outdoors. Students living on campus have been designated within households. For accommodation such as George Eliot, a household would be around 12 students, while for students living in a Founder’s corridor, a household can be up to 40. While the majority of students living on campus have returned to their out of term addresses, campus remains home to a number of students.

While the vaccine programme is encouraging, we continue to promote the importance of everyone coming onto campus playing their part to manage the transmission of Covid-19 by following social distancing and hygiene rules and guidance. The Government is supporting universities to provide lateral flow asymptomatic testing for staff and students on campus, and our facility will remain open until the end of July.

The Covid-19 Local Testing Site remains available on campus for students, staff and members of the local community with symptoms of Covid-19. Appointments need to be booked via the government’s central testing system.