SCHOOLS across the town are adapting to the remote environment after having to switch to online teaching due to the coronavirus crisis.

And at New College, the first week with students and staff working from home has gone well.

Learning technology manager Ian Taylor said: “The first week has been incredibly successful. Staff have been so supportive of each other and their learners.

“We know there have been issues. There have been issues across the globe due to the sheer amount of people using the services we have been using.”

Lecturers have been working on two main methods of running courses online - the Virtual Learning Environment and Microsoft Teams.

Student Chloe White, 21, who is a level 3 digital marketing apprentice on the New College marketing team said: “Learning and working from home definitely takes some getting used to, but the way in which the college has adapted teaching methods so quickly is really helping.

“With the fantastic support and information on offer I’m able to carry on learning. Yesterday, I carried out a mock interview exercise via Microsoft Teams, with my apprenticeship assessor.

“Although I much prefer being able to interact in person and a video interview felt less formal, we were still able to complete the task, which is an important part of progressing on my apprenticeship.

“I look forward to seeing more ways in which we will continue to carry out lessons and modules online in the weeks ahead.”