深圳是我国的第一个经济特区，也是我国首个特色社会主义先行示范区，在教育方面同样走在全国的前列。国际学校是深圳教育系统中的重要组成部分，国际学校的师资大部分为外籍人员。在国际疫情肆虐以及中国暂时限制外籍人员入境的情况下，深圳的国际学校能否如期复课一直是社会各界尤其是国际学校在校生及家长关注的重要话题。
5月18日，深圳市迎来小一至小三的学生返校，加上4月27日及5月11日已经返校的两批学生，深圳市的中小学尤其是公立中小学基本全面恢复疫前状态。那么深圳的国际学校的情况如何呢？会否因为外籍教师无法入境的问题影响复课呢？当天，随着深圳市第三批小学生的返校，记者实地探访了深圳曼彻斯通城堡外籍人员子女学校，为大家探究这所学校的复学情况。
该校是一所英式寄宿制国际学校，学校师资中92%为外籍教师，绝大部分为英国国籍。探校当天，该校一切如常，所有学生均已返校，已恢复正常教学秩序，据该校行政总监李萌介绍，返校学生和所有教职员工的核酸检测报告均为阴性。
记者到达之时，恰逢学校食堂就餐，学生进餐厅之前洗手消毒、更换口罩、测量体温，餐厅的就餐桌摆放相隔一米，餐桌上放置隔离板，单人单桌，错峰就餐。学校配备专门餐具，一餐一盒，排队取餐，就餐期间，禁止交谈，学生就餐井然有序。
该校在宿舍的安全防疫方面也做了细致的工作。据学校寄宿及德育关怀校长的Simon Smith先生介绍，每天有工作人员开窗通风，确保空气流通，同时对宿舍所有区域进行深度清洁和消毒。寄宿老师每天会测量学生体温并做好记录，洗手间配备消毒洗手液。每个学生均接受正确洗手培训，确保手部清洁和健康。
中学校长Daniel Hilton先生表示，在疫情发生开始，该校就提前部署，积极应对，要求外籍老师返校，同时按照相关规定进行14天的自我隔离以及核酸检测。教职员工更是接受了密集的防疫防控培训，同时还进行了与防疫相关的突发事件演练。学生复课之后的第一堂课是接受防疫培训以及心理指导，确保每个学生知晓如何确保个人身体健康和心理健康，知晓如何应对突发状况。
探校期间，记者注意到，该校在每部电梯里面均配备了免洗消毒洗手液，固定时间会对电梯按键进行消毒。
该校市场及招生总监、来自英国爱丁堡的Sonia Buchan,女士表示学校从一年级到十三年级，已经全面复课，老师也按照教学大纲如常开展教学，一切回复到疫情前的状态。Sonia女士在中国生活多年，她告诉记者，在疫情开始时，她正在澳大利亚与家人度假，接到学校提前返校的通知之后，她顺利返回深圳，在自我隔离以及核酸检测为阴性之后，随即投入了学校的工作。她表示，曼彻斯通城堡学校的外籍老师积极配合学校在各方面的安排，回到学校，这才有了今天学校全面复课的场景。她告诉记者，这一切让她很兴奋、很高兴，看到学生们在校园很开心，非常有活力！在校的老师们也表示非常开心，学校能一如往昔。
Shenzhen is the first special economic zone in China and the first demonstration area of socialism with characteristics. It is also in the forefront of education in China. International schools are an important part of the Shenzhen education system, and most of its teachers are foreigners. With the international pandemic raging and the temporary restrictions on the entry of foreigners in China, whether Shenzhen International schools can reopen their campus on schedule has been an important topic of concern to all walks of life, especially students and parents from international schools.
On 27 April MIS opened to students in Years 10-13 and on May 11, MIS welcomed back Years 4-9 and on 18 May Years 1-3 students from Juniors. Public schools have mostly returned to the pre pandemic state. The situation for international schools in Shenzhen differs. Can all international schools open on time or will they fail to open due to the immigration policy of foreign teachers? On the same day, with the return of the third batch of Juniors students in Shenzhen, reporters visited Merchiston International School to explore the how the campus and the MIS team managed school's reopening so efficiently.
The school is a British boarding international school, 92% of its teachers are foreign teachers, most of whom are British. On the day of the visit, everything in the school was as usual. All students had returned to school and teaching order had resumed. Ms Pauline Lee, Director of Administration confirmed that all staff and student had undergone nucleic acid test before returning to the campus, and each member held a negative result!
When the reporter arrived, the school staff and students are preparing to eat lunch in the Dining Hall. Before the students entered, they washed and disinfected their hands, changed their masks, and measured their temperature. The dining tables are placed one metre apart, with isolation boards to separate the diners whilst eating, with single table and staggered peak time dining. The school is equipped with special tableware ordered for this special time and students must line up one metre apart whilst waiting for their meal.
The school has conducted meticulous work in the safety and epidemic prevention of our three boarding houses. According to Mr Simon Smith our Head of Boarding and Pastoral Care who comes from England, staff are instructed to open windows to ensure air circulation and all areas of the boarding house are deeply cleaned and disinfected daily. The houseparents take and record the temperature of all students. The washing rooms are equipped with extra disinfectant hand sanitisers. Each student has been trained to wash their hands properly to ensure that they are clean and healthy.
Mr Daniel Hilton, Head of Seniors, said that at the beginning of the outbreak, the school has positively requested foreign teachers to return to school, and at the same time carried out 14 days of self-isolation and nucleic acid testing in accordance with the relevant regulations. Teachers and staff have received intensive anti epidemic prevention and control training, as well as emergency drill training relating to anti epidemic. When the students returned to campus their first lesson was to receive the epidemic prevention training and psychological guidance to ensure that each student knows how to ensure personal physical and mental health wellbeing and how to deal with emergencies.
During the visit, the reporter noticed that each elevator in the school is equipped with a wash free disinfectant hand sanitiser, and staff disinfect the elevator keys at a fixed time throughout the day.
Ms Sonia Buchan, Director of Admissions, Communications Marketing who hails from Aberdeen, Scotland UK informed the reported that from Juniors to Seniors, the school had resumed classes in an all-round way. The teachers also carried out teaching as usual according to the syllabus, and everything had returned to as was before the pandemic outbreak. Ms Buchan who has lived in China for many years, told reporters that at the beginning of the epidemic, she was with her family in Australia. After receiving the notice to return to school in advance, she returned to Shenzhen smoothly. After self-isolation and negative nucleic acid testing, she immediately returned to work at the campus to begin preparation for school reopening. She said that the foreign teachers of Merchiston International School actively cooperated with the school in all aspects when returning to the campus, which has ensured the complete opening of MIS. She told reporters that she was delighted to see all the students on campus so enthusiastic and keen to return! A school is not a school without students! The teacher staff commented that being back at work on the campus gave them a great sense of purpose and that the school had returned to how it was previously.
