Weekly College Update

Friday 24th June

This week sees the end of the year 13 exams.  We are incredibly sad to see our year 13s leave. I know it has been very emotional for staff seeing the students out of their last exams. I have witnessed so many lovely interactions of the respect and care built between teachers and students this week as gifts were exchanged.  On a personal level I am privileged and proud to have supported them through the strangest of times completing their Level 3 courses. I see a group of students that have shown such resilience and togetherness through change. They have shown real strength of character and as parents you should be so proud of the young people they have become.   We are looking forward to  joining the  year 13s  at their Leavers Prom on Friday 1st July.  

A reminder to year 13s that we will be welcoming them back into college for their A-level results on Thursday 18th August.  Staff will be present on this day to assist students with their UCAS applications and next steps. 

Year 12 mock exams finish on Monday next week and normal lessons will resume on Tuesday. With only 2 weeks until the end of the college term we need to ensure that students keep up their good attendance and engagement in lessons.  

I would like to thank our staff for the ongoing support in securing work experience placements for Year 12 students for Monday 11th July. It is still not too late to secure places, so if any student needs  help then please can you contact their tutor. 

On Thursday next week we have our Freshers Day for our new intake joining in September.  Staff will be asking a number of year 12 students to assist as ambassadors  on the day  to help share their experiences with prospective students.  We really appreciate this leadership commitment from them. 

I hope you have a lovely weekend.

Regards

Louise

Year 13 Examinations

Lisa Lucas – Examinations Officer 

During the past 2 months we have run 81 Exams over 29 days.

We have handed out and safely collected back in 994 exam papers. 

Successfully keeping track of more than 50 students with access arrangements, 

12 students with clashes all whilst looking after our exam nervous students. 

The exams team have worked true to the College ethos, supporting each other and being kind and professional at all times. It is safe to say the College and I could not have done this without the invigilators, it has been a very successful and smooth exam season due to their hard work.  Thank you to parents for your support in looking after your young person and helping guide them through their first full set of external exams.

Celebrating Student Success – Amber A

Amber  – Year 12

My name is Amber and I am lucky enough to have been selected to go with the IST (International service team) to South Korea for the 25th World Scout Jamboree. I will be helping and supporting Scouts from around the world at this event. This will be a once in a lifetime experience for all the scouts involved including myself. In order to go I need to raise over £3000. 

Last weekend, 17th – 19th June I went to a training camp in London. This involved camping and doing activities for the weekend in preparation. I met lots of different people on this trip and had a lot of fun. We learnt alot about Korean culture and tried some Korean food, it was a very eventful weekend. The weather was insanely hot on the Friday and cold and wet on the Saturday, Sunday was fair and a bit sunny. On Saturday there was thunder and lightning and heavy rain that delayed our sleep. Travelling on the Friday and Sunday on trains and tubes was difficult, because of our big rucksacks we kept bumping into people.  On Sunday my travelling team and I got split up on the train, they made it to the train and I didn’t. I had to get on the next train to Basingstoke and my team got off so that we could meet – which worked out in the end. After a long weekend and crazy travelling problems including cancelled trains we made it home.  The adventure has already begun.

This is a photo of my crew and I – crew Y from Wiltshire, Dorset and the Channel Islands. 

Here is a link to my gofund me account, any donations would be greatly appreciated.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-amber-go-to-the-world-scout-jamboree-2023?member=17207443&sharetype=teams&utm_campaign=p_na+share-sheet&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=customer

Celebrating Staff Success – Rosie Roberts

Kathryn Clarkson, Business Manager and Support Staff Lead

Not only do students gain qualifications at S6C,  but many of our staff continue with professional development alongside their work and achieve great outcomes to support our students.  Rosie Roberts qualified this week to undertake initial careers meetings with students with a Level 6 Diploma in Careers Interviewing.  This is a significant step forward in ensuring we can provide the necessary advice and guidance to students in-house at S6C.   Rosie is currently working with our external careers advisor,  Polly Wiggins,  on a plan to make sure all of our students get the necessary appointments to discuss their next steps. 

Esports

Nathan David – Teacher of Esports

I was contacted by  National Online Safety a few months ago to discuss a joint venture of working with our Esports students.  They tasked our year 12 students  in the Esports Team  to create  guidance for Parents/Carers regarding Esports. 

Our Esports students have had a huge involvement with the content of this project and worked with myself  on the style and format before we presented  it back to the NOS. 

The guidance was successfully received and approved.  It will now be available nationally for all educational institutions and here is a copy of the finished piece. We are really proud of our young ambassadors at S6C in the course who are involved in reviewing e safety procedures in the college. They show great maturity and understanding of the risks of being online.