Hello everybody, my name is Professor Nicola Phillips. I'm the Vice Principal for Education at King's. 

I hope you and all your loved ones are keeping safe and well. 

I know that you'll all have many questions in your minds at the moment as you think about your options for next year, under such unusual circumstances. I wanted to share with you how we at King's are preparing for the next academic year and start to give you a sense of what you can expect as you consider your plans. 

The COVID-19 pandemic is causing great uncertainty for everyone and will continue to do so for some time. But I want to assure you that we will be ready and really excited to welcome you in the new academic year. 

Our priority is the health and wellbeing of everyone studying and working at King's and indeed of our wider community. We will be open, and we'll be offering a combination of on campus and online teaching and learning. 

Whether you can be physically present in London right away, or not, we're committed to providing you with the high-quality education and the enriching university experience that you want and you can expect from King's. 

So, for your educational experience, obviously what matters the most is regular interaction and discussion with our outstanding academic staff, and with your cohort of equally outstanding fellow students, along with individual support for your studies, and these things will remain at the heart of our educational provision over the coming year. 

Wherever possible, and governed at all times by safety measures, we're planning for small group teaching activities such as seminars, tutorials, supervisions, some laboratory and other practical activities to take place on campus. Our intention is to have as many of these activities on campus as we safely can, while delivering some of them through enhanced use of technology as well. 

Online teaching and technology-enhanced learning will be used where we can't ensure safe distancing, in line with UK Government guidance. This will include lectures and other kings of larger group teaching, at least for the first semester. 

If you need to join us in London later in the academic year, assuming that your programme regulations allow you to do this, we will use technology so that you have every opportunity to engage fully with your studies, despite not being on campus. 

So, whatever your individual circumstances and wherever you are in the world, we hope that this flexible approach will support you in every way possible to begin your studies at King's. 

But choosing to study at King's is of course about much more than being in the classroom. Our accommodation will be open, and our wide range of support services, guidance and learning resources will be fully available to you. 

We're working with our students' union, KCLSU, to develop imaginative ways to ensure that you have opportunities to connect with fellow students, to get a feeling for London, this incredible city, and take part in Welcome Week and a range of social, sporting and development activities. 

As we open our campuses, I want to assure you that we will put in place appropriate and specific measures to protect the health and wellbeing of our students and staff, in line with UK Government guidance. 

We are constantly adapting to what are extremely unusual circumstances for all universities around the world and we will continue to review our plans as the situation evolves. 

So, please look out for much more information that we'll be providing for you over the coming weeks and months, 

including much more detailed information about your chosen programme of study. 

We really look forward to welcoming you to King's and I look forward to personally being in touch with you again soon. 

Thank you very much.