14.11.2025
TERM 2 VALUE:
Integrity
Dear Students, Parents and Carers,
This week our whole college community came together to mark a moment of reflection for Remembrance Day, observing two minutes of silence to honour all those who have given their lives in service of others. It provided an opportunity for us to pause, give thanks, and remember, for those who have given their lives for peace and to renew our commitment to build a world rooted in justice and compassion.
Throughout the month of November, our Chaplaincy will also be offering a range of opportunities for prayer and reflection as we remember those who have passed away. This includes our Prayers of Remembrance in the Chapel, where names of loved ones can be added and held in prayer during the coming weeks.
We hope all our students have had a positive and productive week. Many of our Year 13 students have begun receiving UCAS and Apprenticeship offers, which will help shape their exciting next steps. Others are busy preparing for their upcoming Mock Examinations, which begin on Monday 24th November. These mock exams are a valuable opportunity to practise exam technique, identify areas for improvement, and build confidence ahead of final assessments. We encourage students to plan their revision carefully, seek support from teachers where needed, and look after their wellbeing during this busy time.
Our Academic Coaches, LRC Study Hub Team are here to help you with your revision with a wealth of ideas, strategies and even just providing study space ready to offer. One of our teachers, and Curriculum Cluster Lead for Science Hollie, has recently put this excellent revision techniques video together for her students and we want to share it with you all... it will be a valuable 18 minutes of viewing for students and their parents/carers!
How to revise and make it stick!
This week, we hosted our final Open Evening of 2025 on Thursday. We extend a huge thank you to all our Student Ambassadors who continue to represent the college so brilliantly — your enthusiasm and pride make a real difference to our future students and families.
Finally, please note that the college is closed to students today, Friday 14th November, for a whole-staff INSET day.
Marian Curran
Principal
CHAPLAINCY
The Chapel is open every day for quiet reflection.
You can find the Chaplaincy team in room B209, all faiths & no faiths are welcome!
There are lots of enrichment activities that you can get involved in via the Chaplaincy, click the button below to find out more.
Thought of the Week:
In November we are invited to pause and remember loved ones who have passed, and to hold in our hearts those affected by grief and conflict. Whether through prayer, quiet reflection, or simple acts of kindness, we can offer comfort and solidarity.
How can you honour someone’s memory today, in your words, actions, or presence?
KEY DATES
Friday 14th November: Inset Day
Monday 17th and Wednesday 19th November: Year 12 & 13 Acting Showcase
Monday 24th November: Year 13 mocks begin
EVENTS
BTEC Acting Showcase
Our amazing Year 12 & 13 BTEC Acting students are hitting the stage next week!
📆Monday 17th November- 6:30pm
📆Wednesday 19th November- 6:30pm
Act One: Year 12 Acting perform extracts from 'Things I Know to be True: Things I Know To Be True is about love in many of its forms. At times comforting and supportive. At others suffocating and destructive. But always love.
Act Two: Year 13 Acting perform extracts from 'The IT': Presented in the style of a direct-address documentary, Vivienne Franzmann's The IT is a darkly comic state-of-the-nation play exploring adolescent mental health and the rage within.
Please note: These works contain themes that some audience members may find distressing: Grief, mental health, gender transition, drug abuse.
Age recommendation: 12+
Run time approx 2 hours
Book tickets here
Clifton LitFest Success!
Earlier this year, 11 of our students entered the Clifton LitFest Young Adult Writing Competition—a fantastic achievement in itself! We’re thrilled to announce that three of our students have won prizes:
- Emma Look – Winner of the Non-Fiction and Allegory category
- Sophia McCormack – Runner-up in the Fiction category
- Sophie McIntyre – Runner-up in the Fiction category
Huge congratulations to all involved—you’ve made us proud!
Sports Spotlight
This week’s shout-out goes to Gabi Ritter Sherrat, who placed second in the Bristol Schools Cross Country Championship! Gabi has now qualified to represent the college in the Avon Schools Championships in January. Amazing work, Gabi!
Student Survey Prize Draw Winners
Thank you to everyone who completed our Term 1 Student Survey. We’re delighted to announce the winners:
- 1st Prize: A meal at Café Max – Sophia McCormack (what a winning week!)
- 2nd Prize: A free drink of choice from the Café – Gracie Gabriel (perfect for a hot chocolate on these chilly days!)
- 3rd Prize: A delicious cookie or cake – Maeve O’Brien
Parent/Carer Voice
We value your input too (although we cannot promise the prizes!)
Parents and carers now have an opportunity to let us know about you/your young persons experience of college life so far and share ideas on how we can connect meaningfully with you.
The survey is open for two weeks and we would really welcome 6 minutes of your time to let us know your thoughts.
Please click on THIS LINK to take part
Coming Soon: Service Award Winners
We’ve taken a short pause to ensure we share our Service Award winners in the best way possible. Stay tuned—announcements coming next week!
Bristol Education Partnership (BEP) 48 Hour Podcast Challenge!
The Schools 48 Hour Podcast Challenge is a unique challenge that's more than just a race against the clock. It's a powerful opportunity to ignite creative thinking and fully explore the power of words in a modern, engaging format. It is exclusive to just students from BEP schools.
The Challenge Details
Students will be challenged to conceive, script, record, and edit their very own podcast in just 48 hours over a single weekend. This compressed time frame is the perfect crucible to test and refine essential communication, teamwork, and problem-solving skills in a dynamic, real-world experience.
We know safety and supervision are key. Please note that while the creative process happens over the weekend, all participating student teams must be supervised by a parent or guardian throughout the challenge period.
Inspiring Oracy and Language Skills
Imagine the learning that will happen as students:
- Harness the power of your voice to tell compelling stories.
- Collaboratively craft complex narratives under pressure.
- Develop sophisticated arguments and persuasive language for an authentic audience.
This challenge provides an unparalleled platform for students to take ownership of their learning and see their oracy and communication skills transform into a tangible, shareable product.
How it works
The challenge begins at 4:30pm, Friday 21st November and stops at 4:30pm, Sunday, 23rd November. When the clock starts, the challengers will be issued with the three elements that must be worked into their 10 -15 minute podcast entry.
Any tech can be used, smart phones, tablets, portable recorders along with any free audio software.
Students and teachers (who are recommending students) can register their interest using this link: https://schoolspodcastchallengeuk.my.canva.site/
BEP will then direct all interested teams to the final registration page with full details.
We fully encourage interested students to sign up and take part, we will be following your progress 🙂
CLUBS, SOCIETIES & ENRICHMENT
Student Union Update
Our Wednesday Street Eats campaign has been a hit with students and staff, bringing more diversity to our food offer. We’re taking a short pause to review feedback and make improvements—but we’re excited to keep celebrating the college’s diversity through our café options. Watch this space!
Academic & Careers Enrichment
Over the past two weeks, our Business & Economics students have enjoyed incredible enrichment opportunities:
- Guest speakers from Bath University sharing insights into Business and Economics
- A talk from Sir Stephen Robertson on Economics and Marketing, attended by over 140 students
And it doesn’t stop there!
- Geography hosted its first-ever drone workshop
- Politics students took part in a Lesson with the Lords session
- English Literature students welcomed a visiting speaker for an inspiring talk
Enrichment Activities
To see the current timetable for all clubs and societies click here
If you'd like to take part you can either turn up on the day, or email bwi@stbrn.ac.uk to be added to the Teams page.
POLICIES
❗️ Lanyards ❗️
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.
⌚ Attendance Monitoring ⌚
Attendance is crucial for success, particularly during these initial weeks. For our Year 12, ATL3 and Year 13 students, please be aware that we will be closely monitoring attendance. Maintaining regular attendance is important, as it impacts your ability to remain enrolled on your courses. Should there be concerns about your attendance falling below our threshold during the first three weeks, it may affect your place at St Brendan’s.
We are here to support you through these transitions and ensure that your time at St Brendan's is both successful and enjoyable. Our staff, including teachers, progress tutors, inclusive learning team, careers team, mental health team and the senior team, are here to help with any concerns or queries that you may have.
💳 Cashless Campus 💳
St Brendan's is a cashless campus so please make sure you have a card and/or contactless payment on your phone.
🖨️ Print Credit 🖨️
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.
🚘 Turning Right at the end of the day 🚘
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.
Parent/ Carer Handbook
Our Parent & Carer handbook contains important information about your young person's time at College.
In the handbook you will find key dates and contacts, information about the College, and details for logging in to Pro-Portal so that you can monitor progress and attendance from home.
SUPPORT
📝Study Skills Support📝
Are you in need of some study skills support?
Click here to find out more about how the LRC can help!
✉️ Weekly Bulletins ✉️
Our weekly bulletin is designed to keep you informed about upcoming events, opportunities, and essential information. Please make sure to keep an eye on these updates to stay informed throughout the College year.
🖥 16-19 Student Bursary 🖥
Bursary Applications are now open for current students to reapply/apply for a bursary for this academic year.
Don’t delay apply today!
Any queries please email bursary@stbrn.ac.uk
There is information in the Bursary Support section of our website and an email has been sent to students with all the details.
CAREERS
Careers News
Head over to the Careers News page for lots of useful resources and opportunities.
Careers SharePoint Site
Our Careers Team have created a Careers SharePoint site to support you in obtaining all the information, advice and guidance for your future plans.
On the site, you will find the following pages:
💬 Careers Guidance Meetings - You will see our calendar of activity and have access to our booking link
🧭 UCAS - Information and guidance on personal statements, open days, taster days, key deadlines and much, much more
📍 Apprenticeships - Guidance on understanding apprenticeships, useful links, and hints/tips for interview
📢 Industry Spotlight - Videos that will inform, educate and empower you to make an informed next step decision
📝 CV and Cover Letters - Useful templates and guidance
🚀 Labour Market Information - Understand more about the growing and declining sectors and industries
🔎 Subject Careers Support - Information and links to subject-related support that can impact your studies
💡 Work Experience - Dates and opportunities to gain ready-life experience of the workplace
Click the link https://stbrn.sharepoint.com/sites/Careers or log onto the jump page and click on the Careers Zone button.
KEY CONTACTS
Marian Curran Principal
David Beesley Vice Principal (Curriculum Quality & Innovation)
Vicki Haigh Assistant Principal (Student Progression, Inclusion and Success)
Shane Blackshaw Executive Finance Director
Tanya Schottlander Head of Student Wellbeing & Safeguarding
Ross Stone Exam Officer
Sarah Hinder Finance Manager
Claire Woodhouse Attendance Officer
