Friday 03 February 2023
This week was the application deadline for entry in September 2023 and the numbers of young people wanting to study at S6C are better than ever. We are all incredibly proud of the quality of teaching here and the excellent results that our students achieve and when combined with the welcoming, friendly atmosphere, I believe we are able to offer our applicants a unique and rewarding experience and I am delighted that so many young people are choosing to study with us.
Thank you to everyone who sent in food and other items for the Trussell Trust. We at S6C endeavour to support local charities as often as we can and your generosity is hugely appreciated.
On Monday a small group of our students met with Kathryn Podmore, an Education Consultant, who spent the day at S6C speaking to staff and students and conducting learning walks. Kathryn was very interested to learn the student’s views and her feedback will be invaluable as we consider and develop the ways in which we teach our courses.
Next week is National Apprenticeships Week (please see details below) and other dates for your diary include an interview evening for prospective students on Tuesday 07 February, the MLP parent survey closes on Friday 10 February, half term runs from Monday 13 to Friday 17 February and Year 13 mock exams take place in the week commencing 27 February.
Regards
Ben
MLP Parent Survey
Dear Parents and Carers
You will have been asked to complete the parent survey which has been issued to parents in all ten of our academies this month. A similar survey has been issued to staff and pupils. This is an essential part of our work as Trustees of Magna Learning Partnership. The results of the survey will help us determine where the strengths and the areas for improvement are in all our academies so, whilst it may seem a bit of a cliché, your views really are important to us. We would like as many parents as possible to complete the survey, which closes on 10 February (at the half term break). The link to complete it for your child’s academy can be found here:
MLP Parent Survey – January 2023
We will ensure that we provide you with feedback from the surveys before the Easter break.
Thank you for your support.
Neil Owen
Chair of Trustees
National Apprenticeship Week 06 to 12 February 2023
Rosie Roberts – Careers and Schools Liaison Officer
National Apprenticeship Week (NAW) aims to shine a light on the amazing work being done by apprentices, employers and their training providers across the country.
The theme this year is ‘Skills for Life’.
The week-long celebration of apprenticeships, taking place across England, will reflect on how apprenticeships can help individuals to develop the skills and knowledge required for a rewarding career and businesses to develop a talented workforce that is equipped with future-ready skills.
For more information about national events happening during the week please visit https://naw.appawards.co.uk/events
You can also keep up to date with the latest National Apprenticeship Week news by following @Apprenticeships and @AmazingAppsUK on Twitter and Apprenticeships Gov on LinkedIn.
Fine Art and Photography
Sophie Bellars – Teacher of Fine Art and Photography
Year 13 Fine Art and Photography students started their externally set assignment on Wednesday. They now have 13 weeks (including holidays) to complete a wide range of experiments and development of ideas that will lead towards their 15 hour exam. The dates are:
PHOTOGRAPHY
19 April, 20 April, 24 April
FINE ART
25 April, 26 April, 27 April
Holocaust Memorial Day
Sally Tye – Faculty Lead Humanities
On Friday 27 January S6C students were honoured to be invited to contribute to the city’s commemoration event at the Guild Hall. Five student volunteers read orginial testimonies from survivors of a number of genocides including the Holocaust, the Rowandan Genocide and the Bosnian Genocide. Four of these students will also be taking part in the Lessons from Auschwitz project next month and be making their own journey to Poland. With the last few survivors of the holocaust dying and the unfortunate occurrence of subsequent genocides, educating our young people about these atrocities becomes a fundamental part of safeguarding our societies.
Speaker Miranda Perry writes:
“Last Friday was Holocaust Memorial Day, which takes place every 27th of January with the theme this year being ‘Ordinary People’. The event took place in the Guild Hall and featured many incredible guest speakers, who all got to tell the stories of their family members, ordinary people, who went through the Holocaust themselves, as well as a choir performance and an educational video on the ten stages of genocide. During this event, I and four other S6C students read out testimonies from genocide survivors: Sir Ben Helfgott, Marie Chantal Uwamahoro and Nedžad Avdić, so that their stories and the genocides that they witnessed can never be forgotten. Despite the sombre circumstances and atmosphere, it will always be important to remember the events of the Holocaust, and other genocides, and continue educating the next generation, a message that everyone in the Guild Hall took to heart as the room was full.
Army Outreach Visit
Emma Thompson – Teacher of Sport
The Year 12 sports students spent Thursday afternoon with a team from the British Army, who delivered a careers presentation on all the different options there are within the Army including apprenticeships and funded university degrees. All the students then took part in an elite skills building session where their teamwork, communication and problem solving skills were put to the test.
Harnham Water Meadows
Susan Murphy – Teacher of Geography
S6C geography students went for an afternoon visit to the Harnham Water Meadows this week. The volunteers at the trust gave them an excellent presentation about the historical purpose of the meadows and the local geography of the area. Following this, students got the opportunity to go out on to the meadows to be shown the ‘drowning’ in action. It was a fantastic opportunity to see how the history and geography of the local area can influence local conservation and biodiversity in the present.
Alumni Guest Speaker
Sally Tye – Faculty Lead Humanities
This week WSE and S6C alumni Angus Archer came in to talk to philosophy students about studying at the university of Southampton and tips on preparing for exams. He also reluctantly admitted that Sally was right about almost everything!
Photography
Craig Chambers – Assistant Head
Over the next few weeks, year 12 photography students will be looking at analogue black and white film photography and we would like to show a variety of film cameras to them. Please can we appeal to you to donate any old film cameras you might still have to this cause?
Life Skills
Rebecca Anderson – Pastoral Lead
In Life Skills Year 12 and Year 13 are moving on to the next section of their pathways. Year 12 will be looking at Community and Citizenship with discussion on topics including British values, radicalisation, politics and government, and the influence of Influencers. Year 13 will be Looking Ahead with a number of sessions on managing and planning personal finance; how to support yourself or those around you with issues such as mental health, domestic violence and bereavement, when you have less pastoral support available; and what to look out for when getting your own place (and at what point young adults should consider paying rent at home!) As ever, if you’d like to know more about the information and resources we share with our young people, or how we can support them, please do get in touch with Rebecca Anderson, Pastoral Lead.
Aspire to Excellence
Rebecca Anderson – Pastoral Lead
Don’t forget our S6C Aspire to Excellence programme, which is open to all. We have identified opportunities which are free or under £10 to boost applications to university, employment and apprenticeships. Everyone should be doing something in the programme so please encourage your young person to talk to their tutor about what they would like to do.
Careers
Rebecca Anderson – Pastoral Lead
A reminder that we can arrange additional careers appointments with our external careers advisor as well as with a range of staff. Any student needing to do an interview for apprenticeship, employment or university can come and see Rebecca to arrange some guidance and practice. And 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.
