DIONNE Hossack should be going to school for one final term. Instead, the 18-year-old from Stonehouse in South Lanarkshire is completing her assessments online at home during the week, while her part-time weekend job as a cleaner at Hairmyres Hospital in East Kilbride has suddenly taken on a new significance.

With an unconditional offer to study politics and international relations at Strathclyde University already under her belt, she feels like one of the lucky ones.

Not only have all exams been cancelled – the Scottish Qualification Authority (SQA) last week confirmed that it would not mark coursework submitted for Highers, Advanced Highers or National 5s.

Hossack supports all the changes that have suddenly been thrust upon us, which, she reminds herself regularly, will save lives. “But I really feel for the young people who were depending on exam results,” she says.

“I feel for those who weren’t able to take their Nat 5 too, who will have to jump straight up to Highers. It’s a very scary time for young people.

‘‘I think it’s hard on our teachers too. Our school has been really good at keeping in touch through google classroom and we’ve been getting lots of updates.”

She started her job at the hospital last September with the hope that the two six-hour cleaning shifts would help her save up in advance of University, as well as contributing to costs once she started studying.

But now the job suddenly feels all the more important. “I try to be quite positive but realistic,” she says. “But it’s getting really worrying when you hear about the rates of people who are passing away.”

Over the last couple of weeks there have been changes at the hospital, she says. It was one of the first to stop almost all visitors in an attempt to slow the rate of the virus spreading. “When the visitors stopped coming I felt a change in the atmosphere,” she says. “Then we started seeing suspected and confirmed cases coming in.”

They are in designated wards, which Hossack is not working in, but there is still a knock-on affect across the teams. The job she’s doing hasn’t changed, but she is more aware of her responsibility as she cleans the ward and toilets, using the right chemical products to ensure that infection doesn’t spread.

“It’s now all about working together,” she says. “I’m proud of the work that I do and I always have been. It’s good to go to work knowing it means something. I feel that the movement to clap for the NHS and other key workers shows that people are appreciating them.

“Me and my family went out to clap in our village and it was really rewarding and quite emotional. Someone played the bagpipes and others were there with pots and pans. I feel proud to work for it.”

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