A small town is a bubble, as such, for happiness and misfortune. The presence of the bubble in this situation has given us some advantages, among others, because COVID-19 has so far had little influence on Gaztelu.

But a new course has started and every boy and girl in the village has begun to go on their way to school. Some of them on a 40-minute bus trip (along with children from surrounding towns) and others on cars. In the school they have met with friends and friends from other peoples, in a large school full of protocols, and there has come the impact of COVID-19, as a child has tested positive. After living in a bubble so far, the bubble has now suddenly broken and almost all the children of the town have been isolated in their homes. Ten days of confinement at home, PCR tests and the eleventh day back to school. How long? How long will we walk by isolating all the children of the village? Is there no better option?

Yes, of course. Convinced that small towns offer alternatives, one afternoon in August we met the parents of the children of the people, and aware that this situation can happen, we tried to find an alternative. In the town there are several suitable premises belonging to the City Hall: the old school and the current Ludoteca, or the lower premises of the City Hall. These spaces would be very suitable for our boys and girls to continue with their classes and thus, keeping the bubble of the village, breaking the pollution chain.

When making this proposal, the first contact was made with the Education Territorial Delegate of Gipuzkoa, who informed us by telephone that any such proposal in September was insane. In the face of this answer, we transferred the proposal directly to the Department of Education, to the new Education Advisor, Jokin Bildarratz, and to our surprise the Territorial Education Delegate of Gipuzkoa, Gema González de Txabarri Miranda, answers once again, but this time in writing, saying: “Since the beginning of the pandemic, it has been the Health Authority that has established rules and particularities in the organization of schools. Education has only complied with them. In the case of the Castle, the same criteria have been used as in other towns, centers and students of Gipuzkoa, as they are equally applicable to all”. In view of this answer, Gaztelu's parents stated that we did not ask for any kind of differentiated treatment. We believe that this special situation requires opening up new avenues, and hence our demand. What is more, we believe that this type of proposal should be feasible for all small towns, as it avoids long journeys in buses and cars, reduces the encounters of children from different towns and, ultimately, allows small towns to function as bubbles. Beyond the administrative and technical difficulties, we see the need to put health at the centre and to implement these kinds of practical proposals.

Despite the fact that the course has already begun, the proposal we make for the Castle seems absolutely feasible. Having said that, Gaztelu’s fathers and mothers are ready to meet and discuss possible alternatives.