Attendance at the annual Christmas dinner 2009 wasn’t as high as in previous years, but everyone felt that the venue, Walkers Stadium, was great and that they had an enjoyable evening with their friends.
We used a new DJ this year who proved to be reliable and entertaining, so we will most probably see him again next year.
Most Year 12 and 13 students are involved in revision for module exams at the moment, so many have taken study release, or are working well in the library or PSA. Results should be published in March and count towards final AS or A2 level grades.
The Sixth Form Management (SFM) team are currently reviewing plans for the Leavers Yearbook, photograph (April) and Last Fling (May), so Year 13 have been warned to be saving ready to be able to pay to celebrate leaving the Sixth Form. We hope to use the Leavers Photograph for the outside cover of the yearbook, so watch out for the date when the photograph will be taken. Last year we just escaped the rain, but it was a little windy on the tennis courts.
The SFM are also consulting with the Sixth Form on colours for the common room walls. We have some money to spend on redeveloping the furniture and colour scheme. If students want to be involved, they are invited to attend the meetings on Wednesday lunchtimes in B1.4. They can also vote on the VLE, or make suggestions on the Guthlaxton Sixth Form web page.
We will hopefully soon appoint a new Post 16 Student Manager to work closely with the Sixth Form on engaging all students in Task Force, monitoring attendance and progress and being involved in student voice initiatives. We look forward to seeing some new ideas generated and another member of staff to help continue to raise standards.
We have a number of visitors coming in to Guthlaxton in February to support students with some new initiatives;
- Project trust was established in 1967, it is an educational charity which specialises in sending 17-19 year old school leavers overseas for 8-12 months volunteer placements in Africa, Asia and America. Students who go on placements have to rise to new challenges and learn new skills. These opportunities enhance CVs, UCAS statements and future carer prospects. Applicants go through a selection process following an application with references from the college, they are carefully handpicked and carefully matched to a project. Placements are without doubt a rewarding experience. Since Project Trust is a charity, applicants are expected to fundraise to pay for travel and accommodation arrangements. Project Trust supports young people every stage of the way with fundraising guidance. Whilst on placements, they receive a minimum wage, which is essentially paid out of their fundraising money. All successful applicants are invited to the Isle of Coll in the Hebrides to undergo training, to discover more about themselves and to allow staff to carefully match them to a suitable placement. We have a number of students who are interested and may put in an application to be able to carry out a gap year before applying to university.
- YASS is a part of the Open University scheme for Post 16 students who feel that they want to take on the challenge of completing some degree level units in their free time. Students will receive online support from the OU to complete modules in an area of interest from Forensic Science to how to write a good essay. We have a representative joining us in February to share more information and to allow students to assess whether they have the time to commit to this worthwhile scheme.
- HE- We continue to maintain strong links with local universities and have Kirsty Wilkinson and her team from De Montfort University coming in to college to launch Higher Education with the current Year 12. We hope also to be joined by Brooksby Melton to meet the demand for students wanting to go into animal related careers.
All Year 12 students need to be considering their future. Students on the three year programme should have completed a Lecap form and the Sixth Form paper application if they want to be considered for continuing their Post 16 students at Level 3 (AS level) or they should have benefited from Connexions advice to guide them into employment opportunities. Year 12 studies thinking about university, could be considering what type of degree they would like to study and also where in the country- there are hundreds of universities to choose from. www.ucas.com
Applications for entry to the Sixth Form
Applications for the Sixth Form 2010 should be received at main College reception by current Year 11 Guthlaxton students by Friday 29th January. There may be some external applications which arrive after this date. Students will receive news about their application in the form of a letter via their group tutor throughout March and April. They will then be invited to attend the Sixth Form Induction, Monday 5th July- Wednesday 7th July (provisional dates). Usually, we take the new Year 12 and some Year 13 bowling on the Monday afternoon. Students will need to decide if they want to attend and pay a deposit in to the cashier before May half term. More details to follow.
Deb Wilson
Assistant Principal
Published on Friday 22nd January 2010 at 09:00