A teenager from Sittingbourne reflecting on life in lockdown says Covid-19 has taken his independence and left him feeling "trapped".

James Spoerry, who is 15 and goes to Westlands School, lives in Kemsley with his mum, dad and younger sister.

The Year 10 pupil has written a first person account, being open and honest about the struggles many teenagers are facing across the county.

He said: "When hearing schools were going to close, I was like every other child in the country, excited.

"I thought homeschooling would be great. I could work to my own schedule, eat and drink when I liked, but still complete the work.

"What could be better than not having to get up at the crack of dawn every morning or rushing to get out of the house?

"It was going to be like heaven, or so I thought anyway.

"For the first few weeks, it was brilliant and really enjoyable. But then the novelty started to wear off and home school started to feel like normal school. It dragged a bit and there was not much excitement.

"Now don’t get me wrong, I enjoy school because I love getting stuck into lessons. But this whole pandemic has made me realise how much students take teachers for granted. If I'm struggling with a piece of work, I can’t just put my hand up and say I’m stuck any more.

"Now I have to send a message or an email and ask for help that way and, although people are trying their best, they have families and lives too.

"You can’t expect an instant response which has been one of the hardest challenges for me. As someone who’s not the most academic or the brainiest kid in class, I find myself asking for help on various things each lesson and it sometimes takes a while to get an answer.

"As someone who is pretty sociable, talks to their friends every day and generally makes conversations with people, I’ve found it hard going from seeing these people every day, to not being able to see them at all. The only contact you have with them is mainly through text and FaceTime.

"With teens being teens, it sometimes takes them hours to reply or they never pick up. As someone who likes talking to people, it has been really hard to adjust. It doesn’t matter how many messages I send, whether it's 'hey' or 'what have you been doing today?', it’s not the same as speaking in person.

"I’m not someone who goes out into town every weekend or goes to a party on a Friday night, but I do enjoy meeting up with friends and lockdown has prevented me from doing this.

"I felt almost trapped, trapped inside of the four points I could see from different parts of the house."

"When the initial rules were still in place, I felt almost trapped, trapped inside of the four points I could see from different parts of the house.

"I felt like these were the only areas I saw. When we did go out it would only be round the block with a parent.

"As a teen I felt like I had lost my independence. I couldn’t leave the house without an adult no matter how much I wanted to just walk out sometimes.

"Covid-19 has changed the way we live, no matter how old you are. It has given us all a well-deserved reality check whether that be good or bad.

"Coming out of this will change the way we live and work forever. No one knows where we will be next year or even next week.

"The biggest thing playing on everyone’s mind is the uncertainty. No one knows what’s going to happen next and that’s scary.

"I think the thing to take away from this is the loneliness and isolation I have felt. But I know it isn’t just something I’ve experienced and I’m not alone in how I’m feeling."

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