It's the Year 7 assembly at Newman RC College in Oldham - but every single pupil is sat at their classroom desks and not in the school hall.
The welcoming message of assistant headteacher Nicola Foley is broadcast through the speakers as the pupils sit listening on tables of two facing the same direction.
It's the first day the school has reopened to all pupils since it closed six months ago in March.
And it's the first day many of the Year 7s have ever step foot inside the building.
It's a nerve-racking experience for children starting high school during normal times, let alone during a global pandemic with strange new rules like wearing masks in the corridors.
"Today is the start of great things for you", Nicola reassures her pupils during assembly.
"If you remember to stay calm, to do what the adults ask, then everything should take care of itself."
Joshua Howard, 11, is one of the hundreds of pupils listening to the message as it's projected through the classroom.
He's sat in his science lesson on his first day at the high school.
The only time he saw the school before today was in a virtual welcome tour during the holidays.
He felt 'really scared' when he woke up this morning, but he now feels 'the opposite'.
"The teachers and (headteacher) Mr Potts made me calm. It's really great, I'm really excited. It feels quite different to wear a mask. I'm glad to be back at school."
Joshua's teacher, Andrew Mather, says the rules are 'a lot to take in', but the school has done a 'really good job' of putting everyone's minds at ease.
"We will be patient with the children, and we are hoping they will be patient with us as well," he says.
A lot has changed at the school since it closed to most pupils around six months ago.
Pupils like Joshua must stay in their Covid-secure bubbles throughout the day.
All their classrooms will be held in the same area of the building.
They all have their own toilet areas too - and they will stay in their bubbles during break time.
They have their own stationary, lockers and toilet blocks as part of social distancing measures introduced to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
Downstairs, Jackie is preparing coffees from behind the counter at 'Jackie's Cafe'.
"It feels great, I'm glad to be back, back to normal. I had a weird summer, I became a dance sensation on TikTok", she laughs from behind her visor.
Headteacher Glyn Potts has been working hard with his staff over the last few months to make the school Covid-secure.
"We have to demonstrate to parents our commitment to their children. We have to convince parents we are safe. We have to remove their anxieties," he says.
He thinks it's 'absolutely essential' that schools open now, and says staff have been 'desperate to return'.
"We are delighted to have our students back, we have worked really hard over the holidays to make sure we can provide a safe environment for our young people to thrive. Schools aren't schools without children, they are just buildings with empty rooms in them."
But, he says, staff have had to react very quickly to new guidance from the government, which was released just days before the school reopened.
He says he 'wouldn't like to be the person who wrote the guidance' and accepts that it has changed rapidly because of the difficulties around the virus.
"But from an educational position, my concern and frustration was everything we are doing now, we knew could have been told in July. So it's a little bit disingenuous to turn round and suggest it had to be sent out in the last week," he says.
Over at Manchester Islamic High School for Girls in Chorlton and a Year 11 group are having a lesson on their experience of lockdown and their worries about changes.
"I really like being in school and seeing everyone. It's been six months at home, it's nice to come back.
"I wasn't nervous, the school sent us so many emails, they told us everything that had to happen", pupil Haneen Obaid says.
Headteacher Mona Mohamed admits she struggled to sleep last night ahead of the big day.
Her school email inbox was full of questions from parents yesterday evening asking things like 'I have come back from France, do I need to isolate?", she says.
Just like at Newman College, they are adjusting to strange new rules like one-way systems in corridors, staggered break times and social bubbles.
But she's glad to be back and says everyone is adapting quickly.
"There's nothing that replaces face to face (learning). It's for their mental well being...it's not just the children it's the adults.
"People can't go to work if their children are at home."
Mrs Mohamed is also executive headteacher at Kassim Darwish Grammar School for Boys in Whalley Range.
Year 8 pupil Bilal Adnan says it's 'different' being back.
He finds it difficult wearing a face mask and glasses at the same time, as his specs keep riding up his face.
"If you meet your friends, you can't shake their hands. Most of us haven't seen each other for a long time, it's great to be reunited."
Bilal found lockdown 'boring'.
His pal Islam disagrees. "Since the Premier League started I was happy", he says.
In response to Mr Potts' comments about last minute guidance issued by the government, a Department for Education spokesman said: “Schools have had our Public Health England endorsed guidance on full school reopening since the start of July, and teachers and school leaders and staff have been working hard to put these measures in place so all children can return for the autumn term.
"The latest updates provide additional information to support schools as they welcome all children back.”
