Dear Students,
It is an extraordinary time and I recognise the stresses and strains that you may be feeling. Across the whole of society in the UK and globally, we are adapting to a new set of rules following the fast-paced developments with the Covid-19 outbreak.
We have done our best at St George’s to offer you clarity on our university’s response as quickly as possible and I thank you for your patience and your resilience. I have always been proud of the strength of our community and never has that been more important as we navigate this new path. I am grateful, in particular, to the Students’ Union team who have done a tremendous job in uncertain times, reacting supportively and professionally to the intense demands placed on them.
We may be dispersed, but I promise that you are in my thoughts. We all remain part of St George’s and I am confident we will pull together in new ways through the next phase.
Services you can use to access support and advice remain open. Please see the details below. I urge you to follow up if there is any help that you would welcome.
Please also reach out and connect with each other virtually. We all have a role to play in ensuring that no member of our community feels isolated. A quick message to let someone know you are thinking of them can make all the difference.
We will continue to keep in touch.
Best wishes,
Professor Jenny Higham Principal
Video message from the Principal
View a video message from Professor Jenny Higham on YouTube.
Support and help
We have many resources and places to turn to if you need support and advice at this time. Please do draw upon any of the following services:
- The Counselling Service are offering remote appointments. To arrange an appointment, please email counselling@sgul.ac.uk
- Support from the Students’ Union is also being offered remotely by Lon Teija (Welfare Advisor) and Beth Ward (Students’ Union VP for Welfare). Check updates at https://www.sgsu.org.uk/covid/ for ways to get in touch and to find out more about Students’ Union support.
- If you have been seeing Occupational Health for any reason, they will also continue to offer appointments by phone.
- You can contact your personal tutor. Please note that many of our personal tutors are also clinicians who may be pulled into support the NHS at this time of intense pressure on their services. Each programme team should be in touch with advice on the situation within your course. They will support you if a temporary tutor needs to be assigned.
- As well as your usual social media accounts, you can use university online tools for online chats (e.g. Big White Wall and Student Minds)
Campus operations
The University buildings are currently still open, although we are closely monitoring the situation. Please note a change to the Library opening hours. From Saturday 21 March, these will be as follows:
- weekends 9am - 9pm, staffed by a security presence only
- weekdays 8am - 11pm (helpdesk staff available 8am-5pm, security presence only 5pm-11pm).
Further details of Library service provision in light of the Covid-19 outbreak are available on the Library website. Keep checking the Covid-19 information hub for details of opening hours of key facilities.
Student childcare responsibilities
In light of the closure of schools and nurseries, if you are in a situation where childcare responsibilities will prevent you from engaging effectively with your studies, please contact your programme administrator for advice on whether an interruption of studies may be appropriate.