City of Norwich School is one of many across the country to be welcoming their students back safely during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Andy Batley, Stadium Events Operations Manager at Norwich City, wanted to lend a hand with his team of stewards to provide three COVID tests for each of the school’s 1500 students.
Working with Andrew Inness, who is the school’s Assistant Headteacher and a senior medical first-aider at Carrow Road on matchday, the team of stewards rolled out mass testing from Friday, March 5 to Tuesday, March 16.
“Parents needed the reassurance that things were being done properly and I hope we played a part in that,” Batley said. “The students were very unsure having not been in school for a long time or had the social interaction that they should have and that we all should have.
“Some of them were quite reluctant but part of our remit and brief was to welcome them and make them feel comfortable and reassure them in what they were doing.”
Batley added that the stewards got a lot out of the project, which presented new challenges compared to a typical shift at Carrow Road.
“We’re always looking for new challenges and certainly, at the moment, there’s very little that stewards can get their teeth into,” he said. “It’s only a very small number of them that have been able to come back and cover football matches.
“To get them back together and doing some teamwork is quite nice. One of the things we miss at the moment, and you quickly lose it, is the camaraderie and teamwork.
“The football club has got great resources and we hope that our stewards have helped benefit the school and students in returning back to school safely.”