TERM 4 VALUE:

Forgiveness

Dear Students, Parents and Carers,

We hope that all of our students have had a positive and productive week at College.

We know that for our Year 13 and Access to Level 3 students, this is a particularly important time, and many of you will now be working hard in preparation for your final examinations. This stage of the year can feel demanding, but it is also a chance to consolidate all that you have learned and to approach the weeks ahead with confidence and determination. We encourage students to keep focused, use the support available to them and maintain good routines around study, attendance and wellbeing.

Last week, St Brendan’s students took over the Bristol Beacon, and the phenomenal talent on show was truly exceptional. It was a wonderful celebration of the creativity, confidence and commitment of our students. What stood out so strongly was the sense of community, which was palpable throughout the event, with students supporting one another and willing each other on to perform at their very best. A huge thank you goes to both our staff and students who supported our college community and helped raise the roof on what was a very special occasion.

We also celebrated our Careers Fair last week, where we welcomed a large number of employers, universities and training providers from across the South West and beyond. This gave students a valuable opportunity to explore the wide range of pathways available to them after College, ask important questions, make connections and gather information about higher education, apprenticeships and future careers. We are very grateful to all of the organisations who gave their time to support our students’ aspirations and next steps and also our wonderful careers team.

We would also like to remind students, parents and carers to remain vigilant in relation to meningitis. It is important that students look after their health, get enough rest and seek medical advice promptly if they feel unwell. Symptoms such as a high temperature, severe headache, vomiting, sensitivity to light, drowsiness, confusion, or a rash that does not fade under pressure should never be ignored. If there are any concerns, medical advice should be sought urgently. Good attendance remains very important, but students should not attend College if they are significantly unwell. If our students do have questions, our College Nurse is available for our drop in for our students.

For parents and carers, we will shortly be releasing the latest progress reports through the Parent Portal. These reports will provide an updated picture of how students are progressing in their studies and will help support conversations at home about effort, attendance and next steps as we move towards the final part of the academic year.

Finally, a reminder that students will finish for the Easter break on Wednesday 1 April. We hope this provides an opportunity for students to rest, revise carefully and return refreshed for the important weeks ahead.

Thank you, as always, for your continued support of St Brendan’s.

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.