Elmhurst Ballet School reopening

Friday August 14^th 2020

We are extremely hopeful that we will be able to make a full return to school in September. This means that all students - overseas, day and UK boarding students - will be able to return to our Birmingham home. Our planning at the moment is based on forming three bubbles: Years 7-11, Years 12 & 13, and Elmhurst Ballet Company. Day students will join their bubbles during the day and in the short-term we will be creating a day-student base in the main school building to minimise contact across the school.

At Elmhurst we have a number of large, well-ventilated dance studios, and with small year groups, we are confident that adhering to social distancing in class, with all the necessary protocols in place, will be challenging yet manageable. The great thing about dancers and dance students is that they are spatially aware and quick at adjusting to new ways of learning! New timetables will allow longer breaks between dance classes so studios can be cleaned between each session. 

From September, we will increase hygiene schedules and hand washing and there will be more hand sanitisers around the building. We are still considering how we manage A LOT of laundry! Students and staff will become accustomed to wiping down desks after use as part of new daily routines and there will be a one-way system for the Academic corridor and stairs. For the foreseeable future, there will be no large gatherings for school assemblies or performances and we will need to reduce the number of visitors into the school building. Fingers crossed in our next newsletter we can report on activities that welcome you, our supporters, back through the school’s doors.