P16 Summer Newsletter 2015 - North Bristol Post

Dear Parents and Students
Welcome to the Summer 2015 issue of the North Bristol Post 16 newsletter and a very warm welcome
to our potential new Year 12 parents and students. We are fast approaching the end of another busy
year at the Centre and preparations are in place for the start of the new academic year. In the final
few weeks of term the Centre has been busy offering transition sessions for our incoming new
Year 12 students. We are also in the process of offering taster days to our Year 10 partner secondary
school students, who will no doubt be starting to think about their Post 16 options, as they move into
Year 11 in the next academic year.
Our current Year 12 students have just completed their Future 18s week, covering topics to do with
the university application process, student finance, gap year choices and alternatives to higher
education. During this week we had a number of universities and local employers who came into the
Centre to talk to students at both learning communities. These ranged from Cardiff and Bristol
University, as well as Year-in-Industry representatives. All of our students enjoyed this week and were
able to discover the opportunities that are available after Post 16 study. Students also used this week
to hold a well-being day. Our students practiced mindfulness, learnt about keeping safe as well as
issues raised from the Prevent guidance for young people.
Finally, we would like to wish our Year 12 and Year 13 Redland Green students well as they begin
their True Adventures trip to India this summer. The students have held a number of fundraising
activities and we wish them well in their community projects.
We would also like to say thank you to our student ambassadors who have played a key role in
supporting both learning communities during our taster and experience days. Feedback from the days
have highlighted that our students are friendly, helpful and supportive of potential new students. More
importantly, ambassadors were a model of our ethos at the Centre.
Staff at both learning communities have worked hard again this year to ensure that students have
been fully prepared for the external examinations. There have been a plethora of additional activities
that have been organised, from Saturday morning revision, holiday revision sessions and revision
sessions during study leave. We know that our students have worked hard to achieve their potential
and we now wait for their results. Results day will be on Thursday, 13 August where we will be giving
out results to A2 students from 9.00am, and AS students from 1.30pm. Centre staff will be around
after the examination results to give further advice and support if needed, but more importantly to
celebrate our students’ success.
This has been another big year for the North Bristol Post 16 Centre, which has included some good
AS and A2 results, as well as the ongoing commitment to providing the best possible education for
our students. Next year we will continue with this aim and will achieve by continuous self-evaluation,
high expectations and investment in our students.
At the end of the summer we sadly say goodbye to a number of staff from Cotham and Redland
Green School.
From the Cotham learning community:
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Dr Malcolm Willis, Headteacher at Cotham School is leaving at the end of the academic year.
We look forward to welcoming the new Headteacher, Ms Joanne Butler.
John O’Connor is retiring.
Ashley Amos, Teacher of English.
Victoria Hobbs is going travelling.
Sam Collins is going travelling.
Candida Gould is moving to Bridgewater College.
Geraldine Hill-Male, Head of Performing Arts at Cotham, is moving to Bath Spa.
Dave Martin is retiring.
David Stewart is moving to Oasis Brightstowe.
From the Redland Green learning community:
• Paul Norris, Teacher of MFL, is moving to Brimsham Green School.
• Charlotte Spurway, Teacher of Geography, is moving to St Katherines School.
• Alex Baker, Teacher of History, is moving to Clifton College.
• Adam Littleboy, Teacher of Science, is going to Sir Bernard Lovell School.
• Anna Bryant, Teacher of Science, is going to study farming.
• Emily Tiplady, Teacher of MFL, is having a change of career.
• Victoria Beable, Teacher of MFL, is going travelling and then relocating.
• Joseph Williams, Teacher of ADT, is moving to Marlwood School.
• Anne Clare, Leader of PSHE, is moving to the PSHE Association.
• Adele Fletcher, Teacher of History, is having a change of career.
• Nina Russell, Teacher of English, is going to teach abroad.
• Jenny Lee, Teacher of Psychology, is moving to Weston College.
We wish all the staff that are leaving us good luck in their new posts and a happy retirement to others.
The Centre wishes you a restful summer break, and looks forward to welcoming our new students as
well as our Year 13 students back in September 2015. Enjoy the summer.
Marian Curran
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Key Dates
17th July 2015: End of Term 6 for Students
20th July 2015: INSET Day (Both Learning Communities)
13th August 2015 09:00 to 13:00: A Level Results
13th August 2015 13:30 to 15:00: AS Results
14th August 2015 09:00 to 12:00: UCAS Surgery
19th August 2015 09:30 to 12:00: AS Surgery
20th August 2015 10:00 to 16:00: GCSE Results and Enrolment
21st August 2015 10:00 to 14:00: Year 12 Enrolment
27th August 2015 10:00 to 14:00: Year 12 Enrolment
1st September 2015 13:00 to 15:00: INSET/Year 12 clinic
2nd September 2015: RGS INSET
2nd September 2015 09.00 to 13:00: Cotham Year 12 Induction
2nd September 2015 13:30 to 15:00: Cotham Year 13 Enrolment/Year 13 Clinic
3rd September 2015 09.00 to 12.00: Year 12 Induction (RGS/Cotham)
3rd September 2015 13.30 to 15:00: Year 12/Year 13 Clinic
4th September 2015 09:00 to 12.00: Year 13 Induction
7th September 2015: Lessons start
Green Youth Day in Bristol
As Bristol is the winner of the 2015 European Green Capital, The Colston Hall held a Green Youth
Day to celebrate this and teach the young people of Bristol what does “going green” mean.
Hosted by the comedian Marcus Brigstocke, the day included talks from key environmentalists and
activists such as Arthur Kay on the "Bio Bean" - using waste coffee grounds for biofuel - and Laurens
de Groot, the co-founder of Skycap, an organisation that designs and uses drones to aid safari
workers in preventing poachers and protecting endangered animals.
Workshops were also running throughout the day, including upgrading old clothes with Bristol Textile
Recycling/Creative Youth Workshop and a chance to hold a giant stick insect and shake "hands" with
a tarantula with an exhibition from Bristol Zoo. We also had the chance to vote in the Digital
Challenge, in which multiple new apps were presented to the audience and the winning group would
receive £10,000 in order to develop it.
The day ended with a performance from Emmanuel Jal, a South Sudanese musician, who described
his childhood as a child soldier and his aims as a political activist.
Lara Andreski
Year 13 student
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Rotary Youth Leadership Awards
Congratulations to Mirai Smith (Year 12), who has been successful in her application to the Rotary
Youth Leadership Award scheme (RYLA). Every year, the Rotary Club sponsors a student to attend
its summer leadership programme, where they enjoy a range of activities intended to improve their
leadership and employability skills.
On a five night residential in the Forest of Dean, participants take part in outdoor activities and team
building exercises, increasing their potential as leaders of tomorrow. Mirai performed very well at
interview, as did Josh Guest (Year 12), who will be first reserve.
NBP16C has a long-standing relationship with the Rotary Club and we wish Mirai every success on
this course, which has benefited many of our learners in the past.
Ms Webb-Dickin
Year 12 Academic Mentor
North Bristol Post 16 Football Final
Wednesday 6th May vs
Ashton Park School
NBP16C 6 – 1 Ashton Park
Goals scored by: Raed, Luke, Dom, Frank,
Dom & Jack
North Bristol were crowned Bristol & South
Glos Schools’ Football champions for the
2014/15 season. In very tough, windy
conditions North Bristol played some
outstanding football against a competitive
Ashton Park side. We took an early lead
from Raed’s left footed shot and doubled our
lead shortly before half time through Luke.
We continued to pressurise Ashton in the
second half and again got an early goal after
Dom pressured the keeper into a mistake and coolly slotted home for a 3-0 lead. Great work down the
left from Frank saw him beat two defenders before placing the ball in the far corner. A contender for
goal of the season followed. Dom had only been on the pitch a few minutes before he was allowed
time and space to pick his spot and fired home a superb strike from 30 yards. Ashton pulled one goal
back from the penalty spot to make the score 5-1, but we managed to attack again. Jack picked up
the ball in midfield and went on a fantastic run, beating three players to put him through on goal only
to be brought down just outside the area. Jack took the resultant free kick and curled it above the wall
and beyond the keeper into the top corner. This rounded off a fantastic display from North Bristol.
Congratulations to all involved.
Squad: James, Harry, Mike, Aidan, Olly, Atef, Luke, Jack, Raed, Zach, Frank, Dom, Josh, Jake, Dom.
Mr Spence
Teacher of PE
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EcoFreeko: Post 16 Young Enterprise Team
Well done to EcoFeeko, the Post 16
Young Enterprise team who were recently
successful in winning a place in the West
of England Area Finals.
The Team:
James Loffler
Jess Ritchings
Louis Tyler
Afiya Mudada
Ellis Schippers
Ahmed Yusuf
Abdullah Mukarram
Lauren Wyatt
Hassan Ali
They did a fantastic and very confident pitch of their mobile phone cases to 3 'dragons' and dealt with
an additional group of 3 judges that questioned them on their product and trade stand.
The final was held at Kingsweston House in May. While the team did well in the finals, unfortunately
they didn't win an award this year. Although, Louis and James won a Samsung Tablet for entering
and winning a competition to produce a film of the journey taken through the Young Enterprise
process.
Jess, James and Louis did the final presentation and were commended by several judges. EcoFreeko
has now been closed and the dividends paid out. Interestingly, the shareholders received almost 3
times their initial investment back!
Well done to the whole Post 16 Young Enterprise Team.
Ms Williams
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Post 16 Enrichment: Envision
As part of Post 16 enrichment this year, 3 teams have taken part in the ‘Community-Apprentice’
programme with Envision, a youth education and empowerment charity who work with 16-19 year
olds to help them realise their own capacity to make a difference. Below are some summaries telling
you about each team’s project:
The Tree Huggers (Emily George, Haleema Bibi,
Iona Mchlachlan and Cesca Redpath)
The Tree Huggers goal was to educate others about the
ways in which our everyday actions can be harmful to the
environment. They chose to educate young children,
believing that they are the future generation facing issues
such as climate change and also that if they learn better
habits earlier on this will enable greater change.
They pitched to the ‘Envision Dragons’ in December and
were successful in gaining £300 to support purchasing
materials. They designed fun and interactive workshops,
which were delivered to 30 infants, all of whom got their
quiz questions correct at the end showing they had learnt
lots about the environment and that the Tree Huggers had
reached their goal.
Pictures: 1. Cress heads the Tree Huggers created with
infants to highlight the environmental benefits of growing
your own food or sourcing it locally. 2. Tree Huggers
pitching to the ‘Dragons’ to win money for their project.
Stand Up (Martha Murdoch, Tallulah Clark, Maya Fernandes-Long, Skye Whiteman,
Elliott Russell and Hayden Williams)
Team Stand Up focused on reducing the stigma
surrounding young people with mental health issues
and encouraging students to open up conversations
about mental health with their peers to support one
another. They delivered a peer-education workshop
and took over a Year 9 class to explore myths and
facts surrounding mental health issues, supporting
peers in different scenarios and where to go for help.
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Sans Abbri (Marya Kadir, Vicky Voong, Nellie Ravina, Chloe England, Nina Buxton-Madgin,
Hevy Khalil, Asmaa Jama)
This team felt passionate about helping to tackle and prevent homelessness in Bristol. They decided
to fundraise for a local charity and to make the most impact they went to investigate the work done by
The Julian Trust Night Shelter in St. Pauls. They decided to fundraise for the shelter as it is entirely
run by volunteers and their money will go directly to providing food, shelter, clothes and toiletries for
homeless people in the community.
Pictures: 1. Cake sale to raise funds 2. Sans Abbri with Jo (volunteer) at The Julian Trust Night
Shelter in St. Pauls
Maths Students Visit Bristol University
A group of mathematics students visited Bristol University at the start of July to take part in some
enrichment days. Some students took part in a mathematical modelling day where they found out
about the research going out in the Department of Engineering and Mathematics. They looked at
diverse applications of mathematics, such as how the Fibonacci sequence can be used to model
inter-generational reproduction of bumblebees. Another group visited the Department of Mathematics
and looked at recurring series and complex and imaginary numbers, which relates to their further
maths course.
Mr Pearson
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NBP16C at Debating Matters National Final
A team of NBP16C students travelled to London for three days of debating at the end of June. They
were taking part in the Institute of Ideas "Debating Matters" national final, as one of the top 12 teams
from an original field of 288. The team took on the other regional champions at the British Library, as
well as having a private tour of the Magna Carta exhibition and listening to leading thinkers debate
matters of science and morality. Despite winning their first debate on the topic of physician assisted
suicide, the team were narrowly beaten when discussing compulsory voting. Nevertheless Euan,
Arnold, Alex, James and Peter had a great weekend and showed that the spirit of debate is alive and
well at the Centre. Special congratulations go to Peter who received a honourable mention for his
contribution across the weekend.
Mr Tiplady
Student Council President Update
Congratulations to Caitlin Steele who has been appointed as President of the Student Council and to
Lizzie Hartree who has been appointed Vice President.
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Meningitis Research Update July 2015
Percentage"of"positive"students"
Thanks to all the students who took part in our recent throat swabbing study looking for meningitis
bugs. A total of 1815 students from 26 schools in and around Bristol had a swab taken and of them
920 went on to have further swabs through the winter. We are in the middle of analysing all the swabs
in the lab and we already have some results. We could detect DNA from the meningitis bug in about
8% of students and you can see from the graph that some of those who had the bug had a lot more of
them than others! We are glad to confirm that, despite having these bugs, nobody got sick! More
results soon.
60"
50"
40"
30"
20"
10"
0"
0"to"<10"
10"to"<100"
100"to"<1000"
1000"to"
<10000"
10000"to"
<100000"
Gene"copies/ml"
This graph shows information about the students (about 8% - a little less than one in 10) who had
meningitis bugs found in their throat swabs at visit 1 (blue) and visit 2 (red). The bars on the left are
those with small numbers of bugs and on the right with lots of bugs (more than 1000 times more than
the ones on the left). It looks like some people who have this bug are a lot more infectious than
others!
A few years ago students took part in another similar study and the results were recently published in
a medical journal. You can find the abstract of the paper at this URL:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25709085
Any of you who would like to read the full paper should email us at: Helen.Barr@bristol.ac.ak and we
will send you a pdf.
From August this year, students in Year 13 and entering universities will be offered a new meningitis
vaccine called MenACWY and Year 9 and 10 students will also be offered the same vaccine from
later this year and through this winter. This vaccine replaces the previous vaccine called MenC. The
reason is that we are seeing a lot more cases of group W meningitis that used to be very rare. So it is
very important to make sure you do not miss any appointment to get the vaccine when they come
through. More details here: http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/vaccinations/Pages/men-acwy-vaccine.aspx
We expect to be doing some more studies in the near future and look forward to visiting the school
soon to give you more details of the results of the recent swabbing study.
Bristol Children's Vaccine Centre
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Futures 18 Week
Futures 18 is an annual tradition at the
Centre and launched on Monday 29th
June with a conference of over 30
speakers from higher education, gap year
organisations, apprenticeship providers
and employability consultants. Students
were prepared for life after post 16
through
sessions
ranging
from
the importance of
first
impressions,
planning a gap year, study abroad,
to choosing the
right
university
or
course, foundation degrees
and how to
writing a winning personal statement to
name but a few. We welcomed back ex-Centre students Amy Baker, David Haynes and Leo
McGlynn - all current undergraduates - who delivered a popular session on the realities of student
life.
Tuesday 30th June saw the first ever Centre
wide well-being /resilience day. Students had
the opportunity to benefit from interactive
workshops, from an introduction to being
mindful, healthy relationships - the good, the
bad and the ugly of TV relationships, to
LGBTQ - an equal perspective. Off the
Record delivered three of their resilience lab
sessions on ‘tackling negative thoughts’,
‘Super me’, and ‘Pressure proof’, in addition
to awareness sessions on how to be resilient
and anti-stigma - talking about mental health.
“Our team were very impressed by the students and so was I with their knowledge, selfawareness and ability to talk about mental health in general. I am sure that this has a good
impact on student wellbeing, so thanks again.”
Lin Ren, Off the Record, Resilience Lab Coordinator
“The Futures 18 conference provided me with a clear view of all the options open to me after
Year 13. It also gave me more information about applying to universities and what I need to do
to write a winning personal statement.” Tia, Year 12 Student
“The well-being day gave me the tools to stay healthy, safe, protected and manage my stress
levels. Attending sessions on sexting and the law, sexual health and LGBTQ provided me with
the awareness and knowledge that all young people should have.” Kelsie, Year 12 Student
The remainder of the week saw students registering on UCAS, drafting personal statements, the
launch of the Extended Project Qualification and working towards completing a module on Future
Learn (www.futurelearn.com). We were also lucky to be visited by representatives from National
Citizen Service who promoted their amazing programme. NCS is a way for 15-17 years olds to make
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extraordinary friendships, build skills for work and life and take on new challenges. The summer
project is the last opportunity Year 12 students will have to take part. www.ncsyes.co.uk/
Sweeney Todd
Congratulations to all students who
were involved in the recent smash hit
production of Sweeney Todd.
On the 18th, 19th and 20th of March,
the students who made up the
talented cast, choir, orchestra and
dedicated crew, played to packed
audiences in the main hall.
With the generosity of FORGS the
Drama and Music departments were
able to put on this ambitious
production. Huge thanks must also
go to ADT, support staff and the
catering and premises teams.
Here are just some of the “rave reviews” that came pouring in for the students:
“A huge congratulations on such a fantastic performance! I was so impressed with the actors,
musicians, singers and crew, all of who worked so successfully together to produce such a high
quality show. It was a really enjoyable evening and I was gripped throughout, especially by the
moving end.”
“We thoroughly enjoyed watching the play and thought it was brilliant. All the students did so well “
“I came to see Sweeney Todd last night and was overwhelmed at the quality of the show. The whole
thing was amazing from the live music, choral interludes, back stage crew, amazing piano playing to
the outstanding performances from all the cast. Particularly Mrs Lovett and Sweeney himself, they
were top class...”
Some of our other Student Highlights this Year
!
Democracy Week – In the run up to the mock elections, students took part in a week of
democracy events including a talk on “Why Vote?” by Green Party leader Natalie Bennett, a
hustings Q&A event with the local parliamentary candidates and a mock student election.
Saynab represented the NBP16C at the national climate change and sustainable futures
conference in Copenhagen. This was a fully sponsored trip and she won through tough
competition.
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Several candidates went through a rigorous application and interview process to win fully
funded places on the Rotary Youth Leadership summer residential programme. Mirai and Flo
were selected from a group of commendable candidates.
The Year 7 mentoring programme has been an on-going success. Approximately 40 students
from Year 12 have paired up with a Year 7 student for weekly support sessions.
Chlo was declared “Young Person of the Year” at the Brook Sexual Health national awards for
her “Speak Out” campaign. She has extended this campaigning to extensive public speaking
and Westminster-based advocacy around the issue of young people and relationship abuse.
Oli represented the centre in the regional Gabblers after-dinner speaking competition. He
received marked praise from judges for his original tackling of challenging topics.
Sporting Success: The NBP16C boys’ football team are Bristol and South Glos champions.
The girls’ netball team are local champions.
Suzana (Y13) selected to spend a day shadowing MP Stephen Williams at Westminster. An
important step in her plan to one day find employment within the political arena, or in a role
within a NGO, campaigning for important global issues such as environmental and human
rights legislation.
Another successful World Food Day was organised by the International Group. Students set
up stalls selling food from all around the world (over 20 countries represented!) and raised
money for our partner school in Bhuj, India.
Expedition to Peru. A group of NBP16C students travelled to Peru on a “True Adventures”
expedition. They spent time taking part in community projects, as well as trekking in the
mountains and experiencing local life and culture.
A large number of students took part in “Access to Bristol”. This scheme is open to students
from backgrounds, which are not typically well represented in university applications. They
have the chance to attend lectures, and completion of the course can lead to a discounted
offer from Bristol University.
Partnership with Bristol University and BRACE has led to a unique collaboration using the
schools’ 3D printer. Models of patient’s brains were produced on our printer, and Year 13
science students attended talks from university academics about research into dementia.
Maia (Y13) has been fundraising for her gap year expedition to Honduras where she will be
teaching English to young people.
A team of mathematicians from the Centre recently won a regional competition for further
mathematics students for the second year running. The students - Fraser, Basil, Peter and
Fred in Year 13 faced stiff competition from other local schools, eventually finishing in first
place ahead of QEH and Backwell.
Summer Newsletter
www.nbp16c.org
Cotham Learning Community:
Redland Green Learning Community:
Charnwood House, 30 Cotham Park, Bristol BS6 6BU
Tel: 0117 919 8100 Email: post16@cotham.bristol.sch.uk
Redland Court Road, Bristol BS6 7EH
Tel: 0117 353 3433 Email: post16@redlandgreen.bristol.sch.uk
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