Video challenges to keep students and staff connected during the continuing coronavirus crisis are proving to be a “fantastic” success.

House-bound Camborne Science and International Academy students and teachers have joined the nationwide ‘craze’ via social media with various challenges set by the school.

“It’s all about keeping our community engaged and in-touch in a fun and inspiring way,” said assistant principal, Rachel Trevarthen.

“Along with other schools across the country and around the world, we are setting video challenges to our students and staff as a way of uniting our school community.

"Department Subject Leaders are setting challenges every fortnight, with each one being very different!

"It’s a brilliant way to connect the CSIA community during lockdown and allows us to remember that we all still belong to a school network even though we are not in the same building.”

CSIA closed its doors alongside all others across the country on March 20 to protect students and staff during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Staff have used their online platforms not only for remote learning, but also to set challenges for their students, to help keep them in touch.

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Mrs Trevarthen said: “We wanted to overcome the challenges that lockdown can bring, such as students feeling isolated and lonely without their friends. Over the Easter holidays, students responded so well to the House challenges that we wanted to be even more creative.

“The video challenges are a stimulating way to encourage our CSIA community to come together and have some fun – at a time when everyone needs some light-hearted entertainment!”

So far, CSIA students and staff have been involved in the global toilet roll challenge, in which they had to think of creative ways to ‘catch’ and ‘pass’ a toilet roll.

This challenge was initially set by the science department but the humanities department were quick to create their own version of the challenge to encourage and inspire students.

The English and media department then set the ‘blinding lights’ challenge, where students and teachers create short dance montages which will be edited together.

“Feedback from parents has been brilliant with many of them saying it has given their children real anticipation for the weekly challenges so there’s always something to look forward to,” said Mrs Trevarthen.

“Each challenge is posted to our school Facebook page, and we ask for students to submit their entries to our shared Google classroom.”

With languages, maths and PE events still all to take place in CSIA’s virtual calendar of challenges, there’s lots more for students to engage with during the lockdown.

CSIA teachers have also been hosting virtual House quizzes via Google classrooms, another way to unite the school community during the pandemic.