Friday 17th September 2021
It has been such a wonderfully busy week this week at college. I had the privilege of meeting with our new Student Union Team (SU) on Tuesday and discussing with them their leadership roles and early planning for the year ahead. The SU is supported by Hazel Wright, Receptionist and Pastoral Support and Rebecca Anderson, our Pastoral Lead. Lots of important and exciting events will be planned for students this term, including celebrating, Black History Month throughout October, National Poetry Month on 7th October and our Mental Health Awareness Development Day on 11th October. We will feature these in the weeks to come.
We also had Nicola Bull, Director of Education for our MLP Trust in college this week. Both Nicola and myself had the opportunity to go into lessons this week and see how our new year 12s were settling in their transition from secondary school to college and how year 13s were making that step up from year 12 to their final year of study. The students were happy and engaged in lessons, and there was some really in-depth and complex learning happening throughout the college in many different subjects. Year 12 Esports students were also showing incredibly confident presentation skills, pitching ideas to each other in their entrepreneurial unit of their course. It was very impressive.
S6C is seeking two new parent governors to join the Local Governing Body. The Local Governing Body (LGB) is appointed by, and reports to, the Magna Learning Partnership Trust Board. Its role is to provide focused governance for the College at a local level. It does this by supporting, challenging and encouraging in two principal areas: Vision, ethos and strategic direction; and the educational performance of the College (students and staff). Governors come to us through a variety of routes and with a range of different backgrounds, skills and experiences, but they are all volunteers who work together for the benefit of the academies and are the link between the academy and the community it serves. If you are interested, please contact Carina Sawyer, Head of Governance (csawyer@magnalearningpartnership.org.uk) for an application form, or to find out more about the role and the appointment process. Closing date is 8th October 2021. The S6C LGB work closely with the senior team and we would really welcome further support from our parents if you feel you can contribute a small amount of your time each term. We really would love to hear from you.
Please see below further updates from this week.
Wishing you all a great weekend,
Louise
Pastoral Care – Rebecca Anderson Pastoral Lead
EPQ – We have been very excited to enrol students onto our EPQ course this week. The Extended Project Qualification is an independent research project, with taught skill builder sessions, and can be adapted to a wide range of academic and career interests. Students will either have sessions added to their timetable, or will take the course as a Club on a Wednesday afternoon, so that they get the teaching support they need. It is interesting to note that the resources we use to deliver the programme come from universities, who promote the programme because they value the qualification. The project builds skills which are useful for competitive applications to universities, apprenticeships and employment. It equates to half an A level and students will need to commit to independent study of around 80 hours across the year, in addition to the taught course. Applications will remain open next week if anyone would like to join. Students should contact Rebecca Anderson for more details.
Aspire To Excellence – The S6C extension programme is for students with high achievement or high aspiration. As part of our vision to see every student become the best version of themselves, we aim to challenge even our most able learners, nurturing and supporting them as they study and prepare for their next steps. We have invited a group of students to attend the programme but all students are welcome. We run a monthly meeting focusing on areas which will support excellent progress in their subjects but will also help them put in competitive applications for university, high or degree level apprenticeships, or aspirational employment. This is followed by a speaker programme shaped by the students, and then 1:1 support moving into Year 13. It was exciting to see so many students in our first meeting and we are looking forward to getting to know each individual!
Online safety – Just a reminder, following on from the notices we shared with students on their first day in college this term, that students are asked to use the G suite of programmes in college for communication, and not to contact each other on Snapchat, Air drop or Instagram in study time. Not all students have access to these apps for safeguarding reasons, so it is more inclusive, and much safer, to use our college platforms. We would also suggest that, whether at college or not, students set those apps to only receive messages from existing contacts, so they are not getting communications that may be distracting (at best) or cause concern or harm (at worse).
Careers at S6C – Rosie Roberts, School Liaison
This week, Year 12 were introduced to the Careers programme at S6C. The programme is led by Careers and Pastoral Leaders. Year 13 students are using this resource to support their progression planning.
S6C aims to ensure every student is able to progress onto the right pathways for them. Our careers programme supports entry to university, apprenticeships or employment. Students will learn about careers that relate to their chosen subjects through visiting speakers and careers activities both in the classroom and through a programme of careers activities that take place outside of lesson time.
Careers guidance with an external adviser is available when significant career choices are being made and tutors and teachers are trained to offer advice.
We recognise that parents also have an important role in supporting their young person to explore all of the opportunities available to them and to make decisions about their future study and work. We would therefore encourage you to take a look at the information and links available on our website relating to careers information: https://www.salisbury6c.ac.uk/students/careers/
We would also like to share with you the slides from the introduction session which was delivered to all Year 12s today: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-9_R66Mm4-m4SFTju2X608zgKCyB9Vfm/view?usp=sharing)
MLP CAREERS Instagram account
Find out about careers events going on in College and across the Magna Learning Partnership.
Plus, don’t be the last to know about other exciting careers events and initiatives taking place across Salisbury, Wiltshire and the whole of the UK.
This may include:
- Apprenticeship / job opportunities
- Work experience placements
- Free online courses for all ages
- Talks and workshops happening online and in person
- Advice about all aspects of education, training and employment
We recommend that all students are following this new account and welcome parents to follow it too. Download the Instagram app if you don’t already have it and add MLPcareers to your favourites
Clubs and Societies/ Collaboration work with MLP Schools
The Volunteer Hub at S6C – Steve Price, Teacher of Business
As part of our student offer this year we are launching ‘The Volunteer Hub’. As you may know S6C provides a large Clubs and Societies Provision, normally on a Wednesday afternoon in order to support personal development and crucially provide leadership opportunities during their time at S6C.
With a significant number of students already signed up, we start our Volunteering Programme next Wednesday 23 September with our students supporting ‘Clubs and Societies ‘ at one of our Magna Learning Partnership (MLP) schools, Wyvern St Edmunds. They have provided our students with fantastic leadership opportunities in Dance, Fencing, BBC Young Reporter Programme, Language Code Breaking Club, as well as a chance to support GCSE students with their learning in Art, Design and Technology and Maths.
Over the next term the scheme will grow and S6C students will be working with local charities and community groups, including supporting a ‘befriending scheme with a care home’. Volunteering for our students is about living our core values, providing opportunities that drive equality and inclusion, allowing us to collaborate and integrate not only with our MLP partners but also the wider community.
On that note if any stakeholders have volunteering opportunities they would like to share with us, please do not hesitate to contact Steve Price at sprice@s6c.mlp.college I am sure we will be able to help and please look out for our regular updates.
Photography at S6C – Laurance Rushby, Teacher of Art and Photography
With year 12 photographers this week, to explore the history of photography, we have processed dry plates glass collodion images from 1890 using a cyanotype solution. These photographs came from Laurance’s husband’s grandfather who traveled the world.
The images were revealed for the first time ever to the viewer. Truly exciting to see ghost images revealed before your eyes.
