Covid-19 update: end of Term 1
11 November 2020
Like all UK universities we are working within government rules and guidelines in relation to the safe running and management of SOAS under current national restrictions effective from 5 November to 2 December. This means that we can continue to run and deliver teaching and services at SOAS in a safe and secure way.
Every university has received guidance from the Department for Education on how to best approach and manage the end of term following the expected lifting of national restrictions on 2 December, to ensure students can complete the term and, where students are currently living away from home, to travel home safely.
Please do read the Q&A and guidance which the Government has now issued.
We will continue to run our teaching and support services throughout this autumn term to finish our teaching term on 18 December as planned.
Government has, however, asked that universities support their students so that they can, if they wish, safely plan to travel home during the period 3 December to 9 December, including ensuring that any face to face academic activities being provided end by 9 December at the latest.
We are therefore urgently reviewing our face to face academic activities and will confirm what the planned end date for face to face academic activities will be at SOAS and update the SOAS community as soon as possible.
We remain committed to providing online teaching and academic activities for the full period of the autumn term in order to ensure that student experience and outcomes are well supported.
We will also continue to provide access to all services and support remotely as well as on campus through to the end of term. This means that if you are travelling home for Christmas, you will still be able to complete your studies remotely, whenever you travel home after 2 December.
We will continue to provide in-person access to services on campus - e.g Library and study spaces - to the end of term as normal, and we will continue to provide support to students who choose to remain in their term time address to the end of term.
As part of UK government plans to support students to travel home within the UK safely for the end of term Christmas break, SOAS is partnering with the University of London and NHS Test and Trace to run an asymptomatic testing site (ATS) for lateral flow tests at Student Central on Malet Street, London, WC1E 7HY, a site close to SOAS buildings. The test is for students who do not have symptoms of COVID-19. Free tests will be available from Monday 30 November. To book your test, go to the University of London website .
For the most up to date information on Covid-19 and the SOAS community, please refer to the intranet MySOAS page for students and staff , and our Moodle/BLE .
This page was updated on Thursday 26 November.