Bradford 101 ages 10-19 on life in coronavirus pandemic

NEXT: AGES 20-29: 'Two months into lockdown I lost my job... and then I caught the virus'

Safa Faheem, 10, Grove House Primary School pupil, from Bolton Road

School has been very different when we went back after lockdown. I missed the learning. I like learning. It’s more fun in school than being at home. A lot of it is weird as there are certain things we still can’t do. It’s been weird and hard. I do my homework at home, so that’s kept me busy, but I have been outside, it’s kind of boring inside.

Amber Thomas, 11, Dixons City Academy pupil, from Horton Bank Top

The Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that a virus called coronavirus had spread across the world. For me it was a rollercoaster of emotions because he said we weren’t allowed to go to school, see our friends, go to clubs or even see our family. It was my last year of primary school and I was really upset because I didn’t know if I was going to see my friends again. After about two months of lockdown we were allowed to go out again, but Boris Johnson said we had to social distance and wear a mask. It is a strange feeling being in a world pandemic.

Molly-Mae Windle, 12, St Bede’s & St Joseph’s Catholic College Pupil, from Clayton

I was shielding due to having Cystic Fibrosis, which I found hard as I love to be out and enjoying myself. So I decided to help the Paediatric Ward at Bradford Royal Infirmary as I found out the children were only allowed one visitor to be with them and nobody else. I know how boring hospital is, so I set up an Amazon wishlist to enable the ward to receive donated craft items to keep the children entertained. The people who helped me to ensure this happened were so kind. It meant a lot to me to know I’d helped make the children smile.

Adam Hussain, 13, Beckfoot Upper Heaton pupil and young entrepreneur working with computer parts, from Manningham

I think due to being locked down back in March, I got massive boost, far too much spare time. I used it to work on my eBay business selling computer parts. I had time to go deep into sourcing suppliers, postage materials and building customer relationship.

Hana Abnam, 14, St Bede’s & St Joseph’s Catholic College pupil, from Heaton

The pandemic has been quite hard because of learning, homework and trying not to go out. It’s been okay as we’ve been in touch with our teachers, and we’re still learning. Even now we can go back to school we’re still wearing masks to keep ourselves and others protected. I found it hard going back to school. As we’ve not seen a lot of people in a long time, and everything was set out differently. We’re not going to different classrooms, we just get one corridor. If you can’t understand something, you won’t have your teacher there to explain it.

Joe Rainbow, 15, secondary school pupil, from Wibsey

The pandemic has been a tough experience as I have not been able to meet up with my friends and family with all the restrictions in place. However, I have enjoyed multiple Zoom video calls with my Grandad, in which I play my guitar for him. He loves to hear me play on a daily basis and it is something I also enjoy. Hopefully we will soon be able to meet again once the lockdown is eased.

Timea Krokova, 16, Bradford College student, from Bradford

When lockdown was announced, I experienced a big change that I could not get used to. The first two months was a little bit calm, I’d planned positive things so I could become a better person. But the positive things slowly faded as I lost hope for my future and achieving things that I would be proud of. I was always hoping that I will wake up on the morning hearing that it was all a bad dream.

My fear was that I would never get to apologise for hurting people for my mistakes. As things began to calm, the weight on my heart was lifted. I was able to see my friends and meet new people, I was able to smile again.

Ahmed Musa, 17, Bradford College Student, from Bradford

When lockdown began, I felt relaxed. I woke up at 10am, listened to music and worked out. During the first two or three weeks I met up with friends to play football, but as things got more serious we cancelled our matches. The good thing is I spent more time with my younger brother. We played video games and sometimes we went for a short walk around our area. As lockdown continued and I saw how many people were affected by Covid-19, I started to feel more worried. We talked about it in our family, and Dad told me not to worry, just to follow the rules.

Nasim Aden Jama, 18, Bradford College student, from Bradford

During lockdown, Bradford College lessons went online. I felt scared about catching coronavirus, so I didn’t leave my flat for several months. I missed seeing my friends. Yet, as I focused on my online classes and studies, I had some amazing experiences. We did Shakespeare training with the Royal Shakespeare Company. I talked to an actor and a director, and at the end of our course we made a socially-distanced film where I performed some lines from The Taming of the Shrew. This helped me to avoid depression, it gave me purpose and kept me and my classmates close.

Mahnoor Akhlaq, 19, journalism student at the University of Leeds, from Manningham

Although it was quite surreal and bizarre adapting to all the changes and not being able to see my family, lockdown was a time for me to do things I don’t usually have the time to do as I’m working and I’m a student. I was able to watch more, read more, bake more, make TikTok videos and learn a language. I also got a kitten during lockdown, which was the best thing that’s happened to me.

NEXT: AGES 20-29: 'Two months into lockdown I lost my job... and then I caught the virus'

• Read all the Bradford 101 stories here