What does a Covid safe graduation look like?
This week marks the beginning of three weeks of face-to-face graduations at Portsmouth University.
The institution says it's holding two years' worth of graduation ceremonies when so many other universities in our region are postponing or cancelling them.
The Vice Chancellor says it's a gamble that has paid off with months of Covid planning and the government easing restrictions, meaning the events can go ahead safely
They're celebrating the achievements in a Covid-safe way at Portsmouth Guildhall with certain precautions in place:
All students must wear masks
Students must be separated by empty seats
Only two guests are allowed per person instead of four
The Guildhall will only run at 50% capacity which means ceremonies will be spread out over three weeks instead of one
It's not the case for all students here in the south. The University of Southampton has postponed this year's graduation, with online celebrations taking place soon.
The University of Sussex said 'it cannot in good conscience go ahead with this summer's ceremonies' and has decided to postpone them until next year.
Other universities such as: Winchester, Chichester and Bournemouth still plan to hold theirs this year as planned.