TERM 3 VALUE:

Compassion

Dear Students, Parents and Carers,

I would like to begin by wishing all our students, families, and carers a very happy New Year for 2026. I hope that everyone enjoyed a restful and enjoyable break and is feeling refreshed and ready for the term and year ahead.

Congratulations to our students who collected their GCSE Mathematics and English results yesterday. We recognise that these qualifications represent an important milestone, supporting progression into further study, training, or employment, and we are incredibly proud of the determination and resilience shown by our students in achieving these outcomes. Our staff will have already begun providing guidance and support with next steps where needed.

We would also like to wish the very best of luck to our students who are sitting their Applied General examinations over this week and next. These assessments are a significant part of your programme of study, and we encourage students to continue to prepare carefully, attend all scheduled sessions, and look after their wellbeing during this important period.

Parents, carers and students can now access recent progress grades, which give an overview of current performance against target grades, as well as attendance and engagement. These are intended to support constructive discussions at home about progress and next steps.

We would like to remind you that the online Year 13 and Access to Level 3 Progress Review will take place on Wednesday 14 January. This provides an important opportunity for students, parents and carers to meet subject teachers and, where appropriate, progress tutors to discuss progress, areas for development and plans for the remainder of the year.

Appointment booking details have been shared by email. Please note that all students will finish at 1pm on this day, and buses will be available at that time

Looking After Mental Health in January – Blue Monday
January can sometimes feel more challenging, with darker days and the return to routine after the holidays. Around this time, the third Monday of January - often referred to as Blue Monday - can be a helpful reminder to pause and take care of our mental wellbeing. To support students and staff, our Welfare Team will be offering a range of positive, feel‑good activities focused on self‑care, movement and wellbeing. During lunchtime (12:10–13:00), everyone is welcome to join a calming self‑care session in rooms D2–D3 or take part in an energising fitness circuit in B1 (the theatre). These sessions are designed to help boost mood, motivation and overall wellbeing, encouraging everyone to start the term feeling supported, connected and positive.

Thank you, as always, for your continued support.

We look forward to working closely with you throughout the year to ensure every student is supported to achieve their full potential.

Kind regards

Marian Curran

Principal

Students are reminded that all stairwells are not areas in which they can sit and/or socialise. This is due to the Health and Safety issues associated with doing so. Recently, and owing to a serious injury caused by misuse of a stairwell, we have had to close down some access routes in C & E block to be strictly emergency access only.

We ask all students to continue to respect this and also to be reassured we are looking to find additional spaces for socialising and coming together as well as encouraging students to make use of existing spaces such as the cafés and sports hall area (open for sports and wellbeing activities and time together at published times).

In order to enhance site security/safety at the college, we will be locking the secondary entrance/exit gates by the new sports pavilion in the times between college coach drop offs & pick-ups ( 09:45 -14:45)

This will allow our security personnel to concentrate on one single point of entry to site that is within line of sight from their position at the barrier.

However, this will mean that for staff/students entering/leaving site between 09:45 – 14:45 the main entrance gates at the end of the drive will be the only access/exit option.

As the weather gets colder and wetter, we’re all spending more time indoors. Let’s keep our college a clean, welcoming place for everyone. Here’s what we expect:

✅ Pens belong on paper, not on walls, desks, or chairs. 🖊️
✅ Toilet paper = toilet use only. Not stuffed back in the holders, not on walls, not anywhere else. 🚽
✅ Bins are for rubbish – keep floors and tables clear. 🗑️
✅ Treat furniture and equipment like you’d want it treated at home. 🛋️
✅ Respect each other’s space – no mess, no stress.

🤝Why? Because a clean, safe, and welcoming environment benefits everyone. It’s about pride in our college and respect for each other.

Bottom line: If you wouldn’t do it in your own home, don’t do it here. Let’s keep our spaces looking good and ready for everyone to enjoy. 💪

The College takes the safety of students and staff very seriously. Students should not invite friends who do not attend St Brendan’s onto the site and must wear their student lanyard and ID at all times on campus. (Students should obtain a temporary student lanyard from the main reception if they do not have their ID card with them.) Our campus personal , Frank and Blessing, patrol the site and can be approached if any student is concerned about their own safety or the safety of others.

St Brendan's is a cashless campus so please make sure you have a card and/or contactless payment on your phone.

If you need to purchase print credit you can do this on the College “Store” which you can access on our website or by using this link St Brendan's Sixth Form College Store

When prompted to login, click on the “Sign in with Microsoft” option, where you can use your College email and password. Your print credit account will automatically update after payment has been approved.

A reminder to all students, parents and carers to please turn right only, when exiting the College between 15:50 – 16:20 at the end of the College day.