TERM 4 VALUE:

Forgiveness

Dear Students, Parents and Carers,

We hope our students have had a positive week at College. Can we please ask students to make sure they are familiar with our changes to our security gate system that will come into place after Easter. We have more detail in this bulletin.

Congratulations to those students who have recently collected their Applied General qualification results. These results represent an important milestone and contribute to students’ overall qualification outcomes. We recognise the hard work and commitment that goes into achieving these results and are very proud of all those who have reached this stage in their studies. A big thank you also goes to our Student Union team, who have organised a variety of fun fundraising activities this week as part of our Raising and Giving Week in support of Bristol After Stroke. The enthusiasm and generosity shown by students and staff alike has been wonderful to see, and it reflects the strong sense of community and service that sits at the heart of St Brendan’s.

Looking ahead to next week, we will begin the Student Union hustings for 2026. It has been encouraging to see the campaigns students have already begun to develop. Many of the ideas being put forward are thoughtful, creative and strongly aligned with our College ethos and values. Student leadership and participation are a very important part of College life, and we look forward to seeing these campaigns unfold.

Many of us will also be aware of the escalation of hostilities in Iran and the wider Middle East. News of global events such as these can be unsettling and distressing, particularly for young people who may have family members in affected areas or feel worried or overwhelmed by what they see and hear in the media. Members of our College community may be feeling concerned at this time, and we want to remind everyone that St Brendan’s is a safe and inclusive community. There is always someone students can speak to in College. This could be a Progress Tutor, subject teacher, a member of the Welfare team, support staff, or a member of the Senior Team. We encourage students to reach out and talk to someone they trust if they need support.

Being exposed to distressing global news can take an emotional toll. The Mental Health Foundation refers to this as “global news overwhelm.” To help manage this, some helpful approaches include:

• Limiting constant exposure to news and social media, particularly before bedtime
• Checking information from reliable news sources rather than scrolling through multiple platforms
• Talking with friends, family or trusted adults about how you are feeling
• Taking breaks and focusing on everyday activities, hobbies or time outdoors

It is also worth bearing in mind that some of the content we see, especially on social media, is deliberately presented to provoke a strong emotional response and often highlights worst-case scenarios. For this reason, we encourage students to rely on reputable news organisations for information and to avoid using social media as a primary source for news. Students can also choose to block keywords related to particular news stories if they find this content upsetting or triggering. This is not about avoiding what is happening in the world, but rather about taking control over how and when we engage with it.

We hope these suggestions are helpful. Different approaches will work for different people at different times. Most importantly, students should remember that there is always someone they can talk to in College, and it is always okay to ask for help. As always, thank you for your continued support of the College community.

We would like to remind everyone that St Brendan’s, as a College of Sanctuary, is a safe and inclusive community.

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 🫧

✅Toilet cubicles must only be used by one person at a time. The ONLY exception to this being during lockdown where more than one person may reasonably need to use a cubicle to hide🚽

🤝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 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.