The academic years of 2019/20 and 2020/21 will be remembered for many years to come due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on every day life. The impact on the School (indeed all schools) has been huge. We looked back through the archive to see whether we had any material that related to the operation of MGS during the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918. There is very little archival material relating to this pandemic, and we knew it was very important that this time round the pandemic and its impact should be documented for the future.
One set of documents we received, when asking for material from staff, was a newsletter created by Paul Freeman, the Head of Lower School, to keep the boys in touch with MGS whilst working from home in Spring and Summer 2020. Titled “Splendid Isolation”, the newsletter is made up of news from boys and staff, humorous articles and photographs. It provides an example of how MGS staff tried to boost morale and help boys to continue to engage with the life of the School despite being in lockdown at home. The newsletter was introduced as:
“A new newsletter that aims to irreverently chronicle the lives of Lower Schoolers, boys, tutors, parents and families, now that the school has dispersed from Old Hall Lane. SI also satisfies the editor’s megalomaniac need to continually dispense ‘wisdom’ to a captive audience, which he can no longer do, due to LS assemblies being cancelled. SI is unusual in the publishing world, in that it has a guaranteed circulation but aims to have as few editions as possible.“
Click the link below to read an edition of Splendid Isolation
Splendid Isolation | Manchester Grammar School (mgs-life.co.uk)
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