24th February 2023
Welcome!
Dear Students, Parents/Carers,
Welcome back to the Spring term. I hope all of our students found time to recharge their batteries ahead of what will be a busy six-week period up to Easter. I wanted to say a big thank you to all students who took part in our Raising and Giving (RAG) week to raise money for The Bristol Soup Run Trust. You can read more below.
Next week the National Education Union has indicated that its members will strike on Thursday 2nd of March. The college will remain open, and lessons will continue as usual with the teaching staff who are not striking. Students will be expected to attend lessons therefore reducing the impact of industrial action on their education. Students will also able to use our Learning Resource Centre or to access some additional support. We will also have our mental health and safeguarding teams on site.
Students and parents will have now received their recent progress grades/mock examination grades. Teachers and tutors will be meeting with students to go through areas of success and next steps before their final grades, or what actions need to be taken to help secure strong progress.
Finally, I know that many students have spoken to us about transport concerns. The National Union of Students has launched a campaign called ‘Move it’, asking for free public transport for all students. See below for details on how to sign the petition.
Kind Regards
Marian
Principal
Raising and Giving Week (RAG) 2023
This year for RAG Week our students voted to support a brilliant local charity - The Bristol Soup Run Trust. The trust operates every night of the year to provide food and support for those experiencing homelessness and poverty in Bristol.
Our staff and students donated a total of over 300 cans of soup and socks and raised £450 from the games, tournament & bake sale and donations for The Bristol Soup Run Trust. A huge thank you to our Enrichment Co-ordinator Beth for organising all the activities, prizes and doing a stellar job!
It was great to see staff and students get together to take part in such fun activities and to be raising money for such a great cause. You can read more about RAG Week 2023 here
CAREERS
Opportunities for Students to gain skills & earn money!
The Woven Academy will provide you with a good understanding of the work environment, independence and self-confidence. An opportunity to explore career options and some money in your pocket to either spend or save.
- Click here to find out more information about the opprotunity!
- Find out more on The Woven Academy website here!
Social Mobility Business Partnership (SMBP)
Work Insights & Skills Week for students: 10th - 14th April
A volunteer-led charity, SMBP is a collaboration of 170 commercial organisations, professional services firms and professional sports teams working in towns and cities across the U.K. All are committed to supporting students from low income backgrounds in their pursuit of a career in business.
Applications open from January 2023
Careers Insight Week
Careers Insight Week in partnership with Bristol Future Talent.
A unique work placement experience for students from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds.
If you're interested and would like to find out more, click here!
University of Bristol Summer School
Insight Into Bristol is a free, residential summer school is for students who identify as Black, Asian, or Mixed (featuring one or more of these groups). The summer school offers Year 12 students the opportunity to experience student life in the vibrant city of Bristol. Participants will stay in university accommodation and will take part in academic seminars and social activities, supported by current undergraduate students. They will meet student societies and learn more about what university life is really like. The summer school will take place from Tuesday 25th July to Friday 28th July.
Participants who complete the summer school will be eligible for a guaranteed contextual offer or interview from the University of Bristol. Contextual offers are set two grades below the standard offer level, meaning this programme is a great opportunity for students to access a highly selective Russell Group university.
Applications are open now: find out more and apply! The deadline for applications is 17th
March 2023.
BOOK YOUR TICKETS - Prom 2023!
PROM 2023
- Bristol Harbour Hotel, 53-55 Corn St, Bristol BS1 1HT
- 10th July 2023 , 8pm -12am
- £34 per ticket
Year 13's, you only have until 24th March to book your tickets and make prom happen!
Please fill out the permission slip here and hand it to Beth in the SU Office (Cafe Max) by 24th March.
World Book Day
2nd of March is World Book Day, and to celebrate the LRC will be giving DOUBLE POINTS on LRC loyalty cards when you borrow one of our great fiction titles on the day. We have a display of popular books to give you reading inspiration so come and have a look!
If you don’t have one yet, pick up your LRC loyalty card and start collecting stamps – once you have borrowed and read 12 books and have reviewed three of them in the Library Catalogue, you can get a £10 Amazon voucher!
TalkCampus
TalkCampus is a safe space to share the ups and downs of life. To get support and to support others!
Download TalkCampus to connect with a community of people who understand and want to listen.
Oxford & Cambridge University Applications
We would like to support all students interested to apply to Oxford or Cambridge University. You might find some or all of these to be true of you:
- Achieved a mixture of 7, 8, 9s in your GCSEs.
- Gaining a solid set of A's in your A-level assessments.
- Ambitious to study at a highly competitive university.
- You are intellectually curious and like to read/think a lot about certain topics.
If you are interested in applying to Oxbridge but feel that you have not achieved your potential yet, both University of Oxford and University of Cambridge run Foundation years which are also excellent pathways to studying at Oxbridge.
Find out more below:
Oxford’s Foundation Year Programme
Please get in touch with Hetty Brown if you would like any more information: Hbr@stbrn.ac.uk
Petition for free transport for college students
Many of you have recently mentioned the difficulty that rising transport costs create for your students in attending college, especially once they reach 18 and in the context of current inflation.
NUS has now launched a campaign on this topic, called Move It, asking for free public transport for all students and apprentices, which we are supporting based on your feedback. Because transport arrangements for young people vary by local authority and transport type, they’re keeping the headline ask very simple at a national level.
There is a petition students can sign here to build momentum; please take 2 minutes to complete this and add your voice to the cause.
Progress Review (ATL3 and Y13 students)
We are delighted to invite you to our Progress Review event. This will be held on Thursday 9th March from 3pm to 8pm and is open to all parents/carers of ATL3 and Y13 Students. The purpose of this event is to allow you to talk with subject teachers and academic mentors to discuss how your young person is progressing at St Brendan’s Sixth Form College.
Details on how to book your appointments can be found here
Please note that unfortunately some teachers will be unavailable for this event and a list of those teachers can be found here
This is an online event only on the published date. Teachers are not required to write reports in lieu of meetings. If you are unable to attend this event and you wish for an update on your young person's progress you can contact, in the first instance, their Academic Mentor (by phone or email). They will be able to discuss this with teachers and provide an update for you.
Ahead of the meetings, and at any time, you can see current attendance and recent assessment marks in Pro-Portal. To access this, please follow these instructions
If you have any issues with accessing Pro-Portal please contact our eLearning team at elearning_systems_support@stbrn.ac.uk
Should you have any queries or need assistance with the booking system, then please email progressreview@stbrn.ac.uk
Please note that the College will be closed to all students from 2.30pm on Progress Review Day in order that teachers/mentors are available for appointments from 3pm.
Students using College transport can remain on site in the LRC until 4pm, all others are expected to leave the site.
Youth Talks
Youth Talks is an opportunity for all of our students to have a platform to communicate their passion for a topic, hobby or activity. To kick start the programme we welcomed Anthony from the Carrot Foundation onsite to explain the scheme in more detail to everyone.
The programme will begin with ten students who will receive training, coaching and support in public speaking from Ignited Presenting who are a professional training and coaching company, based in Bristol. They will guide each of our students on how to prepare for their 'Youth Talk' which will take place in the summer term. As well as delivering their own Youth Talk, the ten students will also go on to support others who would like to deliver a Youth Talk over the coming year.
The programme will begin at the end of February with the aim that the talks will become a termly event for all students current and new to get involved in.
We encourage all students to watch the short video below to hear the introductory talk from Anthony and to learn more about this exciting new opportunity and how to get involved.
Find out more about Youth Talks by watching the video here
Apply now here before Friday 17th March.
Save the Date: Culture Day!
Culture Day is taking place on the 28th April.
Save the date, plan your outfits and join in on the day!
Come into college dressed in something to do with your country and culture to celebrate the diversity of the St Brendan's community.
Travel Plan Student Survey
We’re keen to understand more about how our students travel to College and the length of your journey.
Please take 5 minutes to complete this short survey and tell us about your experience here
Chaplaincy
The Chapel is open every day for quiet reflection.
You can find Jennine Oldis in room B209, all faiths & no faiths are welcome!
If you would like to follow any of Chaplaincy's social media accounts - the links are below.
KEY CONTACTS
Marian Curran Principal
Steve Clayson Vice Principal (Curriculum, Quality & Innovation)
Alexandra Moruzzi Vice Principal (Student Experience & Progression)
Vicki Haigh Head of Pedagogy, Professional Development and Innovation
Phillip Berry Assistant Principal
Laura Howe-Haysom Head of Safeguarding & Support Services
Ross Stone Exam Officer
Sarah Hinder Finance Manager
Claire Woodhouse Attendance Officer
