A few weeks ago even though I was still officially at home attending lessons online, I had to go into school and have my first regular Covid test in preparation for my return.

It was quite exciting and weird at the same time. One, because I hadn’t seen the school since we broke up for Christmas and two, because it was a Covid test at the school.

My brother and I waited in the car until it was time to go in. We walked through the school gate following the signs to ensure we went the right way.

As I approached the stairs, I was signed in and given a Covid slip then asked to sit down at booth six.

There were six booths in total and they were all shut off separately. I sat down at my booth and I was told to take my mask off. Then, I was handed a swab stick. Swabbing my mouth at the back for 10 seconds on each side wasn’t that bad as it didn’t make me gag but when I had to put the same stick up my nose, it wasn’t comfortable.

I had to place the swab so far up my nostrils that it made my eyes water but at least it was all over quickly. The last step was to register my Covid results and it was all done.

I had to repeat this twice more at school before I was given some kits to take back home with me.

The home kit for me is somehow worse. It made my eyes water twice as much as before, I get tested two times a week at home and you have a test strip that gives you the result within 30 minutes.

I really don’t look forward to doing this and hope that this will not be something that we will have to continue to do long-term. I know that it’s to keep others safe and try and stay on top of the virus spreading, but I look forward to the days where school is not a testing site but just a place to learn.