Coronavirus: The students who can't go home for Christmas

The Christmas break from university usually sees a mass exodus of students heading home to celebrate with their families.

This year is different. Early in December, students were given a seven-day window to travel home - but some chose not to.

Whether because of travel restrictions and quarantine requirements, or to help protect shielding family members, many have stayed behind in their adopted towns and cities.

And like most of us, these students have found new ways of celebrating Christmas this year.

Cathal Mulchoone, 19, decided to stay in his university halls in Derby to protect his mum and step-dad who have been shielding.

The first year sports management student would normally fly home to Castlebar in County Mayo, Ireland, to see them, as well as his four siblings.

But as both parents have medical conditions that put them at high risk of contracting cororonavirus, he said it was "better for them to stay safe".

"If they caught anything from me I wouldn't ever let myself live it down," he said.

"It's tough to be honest. It's the first time I haven't spent Christmas with them. FaceTime is the closest I will get to seeing them.

"It will be hard not seeing my little sister opening her presents because she still has that excitement over Santa, and it will be weird waking up and not seeing my brother.

"But we have got to make those sacrifices this year."

Cathal said his Christmas Day is usually "busy" with people coming and going to the house, so this year will be much quieter.

He has had offers to spend the day with friends and his girlfriend, but said it "just wouldn't be the same" being with someone else's family.

But he's found campus to be a lot busier than he was expecting.

"A lot of people have family who are high risk so are choosing not to go home because it's not worth it.

"Me and my friends tried to make a Christmas dinner, but a bunch of uni students can't really make a good roast dinner. It still tasted OK, but I don't think many will wake up at 08:00 to get the turkey in the oven."

Emily Ho will be many miles from home, experiencing her first Christmas in the UK with a Nottingham family.

In previous years, the 21-year-old, from Ipoh, Malaysia, has flown home to spend the month-long break with her parents.

However, her barrister training course at Nottingham Trent University is only pausing for a fortnight this year.

"If I went home, I would have to quarantine for two weeks in Malaysia, so not leaving the house for two weeks and then flying back to the UK didn't really make sense," she said.

"On Christmas Day, we go to church for a late morning service, singing carol songs, listening to the Christmas message and normally we have a really big lunch at church with everyone together.

"But I'm seeing a different side to Christmas this year.

"Before, I have always celebrated by going home and being with loved ones, but the idea of homecoming is not an essential part of Christmas.

"The essential thing is to celebrate the birth of Jesus and the generosity of people, which is more in the spirit of Christmas."

Emily is spending Christmas Day with a family she was introduced to through church, after they decided to invite a student who would otherwise be alone for the holiday.

"I've not met them before but I'm excited about meeting someone new and celebrating Christmas in a different way," she added.

"We don't really have Christmas jumpers at home and I guess the food will be different, but what will be the same is the carol singing and the holy scriptures.

"It might sound strange but celebrating Christmas feels like the crowning good news to everything we've had this year.

Earlier this month, many universities turned their sports halls into temporary testing centres to ensure students could have Covid tests before leaving for the festive break.

They were encouraged to leave within 24 hours of two negative test results and given a week-long "travel window" from 3 to 9 December.

It comes after thousands of students around the country were forced to isolate in their halls of residence just weeks into the start of the new term in late September.

As more students have chosen to stay through the Christmas break, universities have organised a host of virtual events and care packages.

Claire Fletcher, events organiser at Loughborough University, said they would usually put together a festive programme of events for the 150 or so students who do not return home.

"Last time we checked we had between 370 and 400 students staying behind this year, so it is quite a significant number more than usual," she said.

Their schedule this year includes online gingerbread making, quizzes, bingo and free dinners in the dining hall - with timed slots to limit numbers.

"We thought it was particularly important to do it this year because of the sheer number of students remaining on campus because of Covid," Ms Fletcher added.

"We really wanted to make sure that people didn't feel alone.

"This year there have been lockdowns, there's been isolation, and from a mental health and wellbeing point of view, we didn't want the students to sit in their rooms on their own when they would normally be with their families - even if they don't celebrate Christmas.

"So we wanted them to still feel part of something. To make sure our students are alright and they feel like someone cares about them."

It was a difficult decision for Leah Langley, 23, to stay alone in Loughborough once term ended, but she is taking part in some of the organised events.

The final year sport and exercise psychology student would normally travel home to Nuneaton, Warwickshire to be with her family for the duration of the break.

"I was really worried we would be forgotten about, but the amount of support being put in place and knowing there are staff still around, and that still care, is nice," she said.

"Christmas is always something to look forward to, but it doesn't feel like Christmas this year because things are so different.

"I'm not really in the spirit because nothing seems the same."

Leah decided not to travel in case she caught anything on the journey and then passed it onto her mum and grandma, who are vulnerable due to several health conditions.

"Although my mental health has been affected this year, it is because of the fear of passing the virus onto them that I'm not going home," she added.

"It just wouldn't be safe.

"It was a tough decision because I spend every Christmas with my mum, sister and extended family, following the same traditions every year... but this is better for everybody."

Instead, she is spending Christmas Day with a friend who is also staying alone in the town, watching festive films and "mainly catching up".

Not having seen her family since August, she is eagerly awaiting a reunion.

"I hope it is sooner rather than later, but it's only going to be when cases drop because I'm not going to risk giving it to my mum."

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