This week we hosted the Salisbury Apprenticeships Fair, the second time we have collaborated with The Salisbury Education & Business Partnership on this event. It was a brilliant opportunity for our students to network with local employers and it was also really great to see so many children from local schools taking an interest in their next steps. Evening sessions for parents and carers proved incredibly popular and we hope that the event helped to answer questions regarding apprenticeships along with highlighting the many local opportunities there are for young people.
The Apprenticeships Fair kicks off National Apprenticeship Week (NAW) which takes place between 5 to 11 February and is an opportunity for the education and skills sector to celebrate the achievements of apprentices around the country and the positive impact they make to communities, businesses, and the wider economy. The theme is ‘Skills For Life’ and S6C will be busy promoting apprenticeships and ‘skills for life’ during the week. To find out more about apprenticeships, visit: www.apprenticeships.gov.uk.
Don’t forget that the deadline for applications for 2024 entry is fast approaching (Wednesday 31 January). If you or anyone you know is thinking of applying, there is less than one week to go!
This week we have been visited by two representatives from Challenge Partners, an education charity led by practitioners with a focus on quality assurance and sharing the collective wisdom in schools. It has been an intense and busy couple of days and I am delighted with how impressed our visitors were when meeting members of the S6C faculty and students. A large number of lessons were observed and although this puts pressure on our teaching staff, our observers were able to gain an insight into how inspiring and impressive our lessons are and how much work our teachers put into the college’s pedagogy. I am confident that we are doing a lot right and I look forward to sharing the outcomes of the scrutiny and working towards making improvements of real value to the college.
Laurence Rushby – Teacher of Art and Photography
This week art and photography students visited Tate Modern and it was awe inspiring to see the students engage both intellectually and physically with real artworks. A first hand experience is so important and cannot be replaced by an online visit. It was great mixing year 12 and year 13 from both subjects so that they could discuss their respective viewpoints. Students said they found reading the information alongside artworks really useful as they revealed a new dimension in the artwork that may otherwise remain unnoticed. There are many ways of understanding an artwork as it remains open to interpretation of the viewer over time. Each student selected their preferred work to discuss with their peers back in class and research further its context. For example the ‘Babel’ by Cildo Meireles (2001) presented a large tower made of hundreds of small radios all tuned to different languages. Students were surprised by and interested in this powerful work. On their return to class they researched the biblical meanings attached to the piece, thus gaining a new understanding of the work.
Lelli Butler – Year 12 Photography Student
On Tuesday, year 12 and 13 photography and art students took a trip to the Tate Modern in London. Our day started at Wyvern St Edmunds with their year 11s. We had an early start at 7:15, eventually arriving at 11:30. Year 12 focussed on ‘identity’, where we were able to find many artists and inspirational artworks to help us with our project. Our day was very exciting, seeing all the different artworks and each finding our favourites. We ended the day with a lovely walk around the Southbank where we were able to take in the scenery of the Thames and take pictures of all the different architectural structures along the river.
Rebecca Anderson – Pastoral Lead
University and Apprenticeships
– Any student needing to do an interview for apprenticeship, employment or university can come and see Rebecca to arrange some guidance and practice;
– Any student needing advice on volunteering, work experience, or wider engagement, to prepare for strong applications, should talk to their teachers, tutor or Rebecca as soon as they know what area they may be interested in;
– We offer a full support service for those applying for apprenticeships, but it has to be responsive to the job market, so there are no set dates for the different stages. This means that students need to show a high level of initiative and independence, but we are here to help and we expect to be involved – we can help search, check applications, and prepare for interviews.
Life Skills
Last week in Life Skills, tutors and students looked at some potentially life saving resources, making sure that everyone knows the signs and symptoms of meningitis and sepsis. These links are well worth a look:
Meningitis Symptoms in Adults
Sepsis Symptoms
This is part of the next stage in the Year 12 Life Skills Pathway; Community and Values. Year 13 are now Looking Ahead to skills they will need as they move beyond college, they are doing a series on finance, using resources from Barclays Bank.
Careers
Polly Wiggins is our external careers advisor and students wanting to book an appointment should message Rachel Cooke.
Adam Jones – Director of Sport
This week the S6C Football Academy played Plymouth Argyle. We had a tough task ahead of us and with only 11 players available due to injuries and illness we knew we had to put in a massive effort to compete. Plymouth are top of the league and unbeaten all season.
The game started off well with the lads keeping their structure and stopping Plymouth from playing through us. Plymouth however went 1-0 up from a ball over the top and a header for the finish. The lads kept frustrating the opposition and eventually more chances were being created. The ball found the back of the net from Max as he slotted it past the keeper with his left foot to make it 1-1. The boys handled the attacking threat from Plymouth really well and went into halftime level. In the second half Plymouth were awarded a penalty which was scored (poor refereeing). The lads continued to frustrate Plymouth from scoring more as well as having chances of their own. As the game was getting close to an end, the boys put on the high press and created more chances to try and equalise. The ref made a few more poor decisions before finally blowing the whistle for full time. 2-1 loss but a very good performance against a strong opposition.
Community and Education Football Alliance League
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
Wednesday 31 January
Applications close for September 2024 entry
S6C Football Academy v. Plymouth Argyle (away)
Thursday 01 February
Year 12 cause for concern parents evening
Monday 05 February
National Apprenticeship Week
Tuesday 06 February
Interview evening
Wednesday 07 February
S6C Football Academy v. Newport County (home @ Ringwood Football Club)
Friday 09 February
Term ends
Monday 12 February
Half term
Monday 19 February
Term begins
Wednesday 21 February
S6C Football Academy v. Swindon Town (away)
Monday 26 February
Year 13 Assessment Schedule
Year 13 DC7 Mocks Assessments TIMETABLE
Tuesday 27 February
Year 13 DC7 Mocks Assessments TIMETABLE
Wednesday 28 February
Year 13 DC7 Mocks Assessments TIMETABLE
Tuesday 05 March
Year 13 DC7 Mocks Assessments TIMETABLE
Wednesday 06 March
Year 13 DC7 Mocks Assessments TIMETABLE
Interview evening
Wednesday 13 March
S6C Football Academy v. Cheltenham Town (home @ Ringwood Football Club)
Monday 18 March
Year 12 DC4 assessment week
Wednesday 20 March
S6C Football Academy v. Bristol Rovers (home @ Ringwood Football Club)
Wednesday 27 March
Interview evening
S6C Football Academy v. Bristol Rovers (away)
Thursday 28 March
Terms ends
Friday 29 March
Easter break
Monday 15 April
Term begins
Year 13 DC9 assessment week
Thursday 18 April
UCAS Discovery Fair
Monday 22 April
Summer exam season begins
Wednesday 24 April
S6C Football Academy v. Plymouth Argyle (home @ Ringwood Football Club)
