Welcome Back to School, Britain’s Economy Is Counting On You
Returning children to the classroom over the next week is an unavoidable gamble for Boris Johnson.
A teacher arranges a desk for pupil distancing in London.
Photographer: Isabel Infantes/AFP via Getty Images
Sara Vickery-Bragg has a company in London preparing mail-order gift boxes and her husband runs his own technology firm. They have also been nannies, teachers and entertainers for two small children since March.
Like for so many parents, that combination of roles is finally about to end in the U.K. as most of England’s 24,000 schools reopen over the next week, a critical moment in getting the country back to work and the economy out of the worst slump for centuries. For Vickery-Bragg, sending her 4-year-old son for his first day of term means no longer having to frantically pack orders while the kids are watching television or eating dinner.