OSFC Newsletter

Hello, and welcome to the first newsletter of the new academic year, and a very warm welcome to our new students, their parents and guardians; I hope the transition from secondary school has been a smooth one for you all. In this newsletter you will find links to key documents, presentations and guidance that have been sent to our new parent community during the recent days, but it is convenient to have them all in one place; and if you are already familiar with the college you may find these documents are a useful refresher.

We began the year celebrating some fantastic results from our amazing year 13 students, who have just left us, and are heading off into exciting new futures at university, in apprenticeships or towards full time employment. More recently, I have been thrilled to welcome 1300 new students into The Sixth Form College family whom I am hoping have now found their way around the buildings, picked up a chromebook and navigated our Google workspace, and have begun to feel at home.

We also glitzed up the college for our annual red carpet Celebration Evening event, when we invited the class of 2024 back into college, to meet local dignitaries, to celebrate their achievements and to give them a big send off. It was a great evening and such a thrill to see so many happy faces returning.

Celebration Evening for me marks the end of the summer and I am reminded that this term is a long one with some key events taking place as the days shorten and the temperature drops. You will find a summary of important dates and college activities in the pages below.

Enjoy scrolling, as the seasons change

On Thursday 12th September, we held our annual Celebration Evening to celebrate the amazing achievements of this year’s graduating students before they embark on their next adventures. Many students are heading onto university, whilst others have secured fantastic apprenticeship opportunities, job offers or are taking a gap year.

OSFC were delighted to welcome Darren Royle, CEO of Oldham Athletic Football club as Guest Speaker for the event. Darren presented the students with their prizes alongside, Principal, Suzannah Reeves, following an inspiring speech, where he emphasised the need to love and celebrate Oldham.

A total of 70 Student of the Year prizes were awarded across our 7 curriculum areas, to the students who demonstrated the greatest commitment and dedication throughout their studies. A further 9 special prizes were awarded, including a new Pinnacle Progress Prize, presented by Jayne Clarke OBE, CEO of The Pinnacle Learning Trust. This prize was awarded to former Hathershaw College pupil, Hiral Kalyan (pictured) for making excellent progress, achieving AAA in her A Levels in Biology, English Literature and Psychology. Hiral is moving onto study medicine at The University of Sheffield.

Following the ceremony, students were able to catch up with friends and teachers at the Glitz and Glamour element of the event. With live music and refreshments, excitement was in the air as students discussed their future plans, and proudly shared their brilliant results.

We are delighted for our students and their exam results this summer because their achievements are a significant milestone in their education.

The Sixth Form College is delighted that the majority of courses have achieved 100% pass rate, with 1800 A* and A grade equivalents being awarded. The percentage of our students passing A levels is a full percentage point above the national pass rate and the number of students holding university offers is at an all time high. Those students achieving high grades (A*-B) have also significantly increased.

This year’s students have also achieved the best ever AS results for the college and 3 percentage points above the national pass rate. The majority of our students study 4 A level or diploma subjects in the first year and sit an external exam or equivalent at the end of year 12. These results provide students with fantastic evidence for university and apprenticeship applications and demonstrates how effective a broad programme of study which often includes humanities, arts and sports choices, can be.

All of our Oxbridge applicants have secured their places and all 11 of our medicine and dentistry students will be progressing onto their chosen courses. We wish all our students the best of luck as they progress onto the next chapter in their education journey.

This year the college won the Social Mobility Award from the Sixth Form Colleges Association, in recognition of our innovative work with young people across Oldham and beyond, and we were delighted to celebrate being the runner up in the Google for Education Awards 2024 category of ‘College of the Year’. Every year all students are issued with a chromebook for them to use for the duration of their study so that they can all take advantage of the expansive teaching and learning platform the college has built up over the post-COVID years.

This year 3/4 of our students have moved on to university in September 2024. This is testament to their hard work and commitment, and the support of their teachers and Progress Tutors. The other 25% of students have progressed into employment or apprenticeships, or are taking gap years before starting their degree courses in 2025.

Our present Year 13s are at the start of their university application journeys. They will be working with their Progress Tutors to meet our internal application deadlines: 27th September for those students applying to Oxford or Cambridge, medicine, dentistry and veterinary science, whilst Friday 8th November is the deadline for all other courses and destinations. Students who are not thinking of university are able to access support from their Progress Tutors, and our experienced Futures Team, as they consider their progression routes.

We loved meeting everyone at our New Parents' Event. We hope you found our talk to be useful. If you weren't able to attend, do not worry, here is a copy of the presentation that was shared on the night.

The Information for Parents booklet is a useful resource that has been shared recently and contains lots of helpful information for parents of all year groups. In addition, our helpful Attendance and Punctuality booklet gives guidance around college's expectations of students regarding attendance.

Our handy guide to Cedar provides useful guidance on how to use it. If you need help with your Cedar or ParentPay accounts, please email info@osfc.ac.uk or telephone College reception on 0161 287 8000.

Term dates can be found here and our key dates can be found on the calendar on our website in addition to the back pages of our Information for Parents booklet.

A reminder that OSFC students can apply for a bursary to help with college related expenses, dependent on household income. Further details on the bursary scheme and eligibility can be found here. If eligible, and based on meeting college attendance, punctuality and behaviour criteria, students receive a half termly cash payment (£15 per week), £5 per day to spend in the onsite cafes and restaurants, plus possible assistance/discounts on other expenses.

The first payment of £105 was paid into student bank accounts last Friday 22nd September, with the next payment due after October half-term on Friday 3rd November.

It's not too late to apply - we accept applications throughout a student's time at college. All students can apply via the Student Portal. Please note payments will not be backdated.

Breakfast deal available everyday from 8:30am:

Pain au chocolat
Croissant
Two Toast
Two Pancakes
Porridge Pot

With either a 125ml juice carton or water bottle for £1.50.

For any families that are struggling for food and provisions, please visit the Oldham Council website www.oldham.gov.uk/wecanhelp which lists financial support and benefits that are available for residents.

Thank you to so many of you who have completed the Data Protection and Consent Form for Parents. It is a requirement that this form is completed by all parents, whether your son or daughter is in Year 12 or Year 13. If you have not yet done so, please complete the short form as soon as possible. Many thanks.

The Parent 100 is a great way for you to get involved in the college, take part in consultations and give us feedback. It also gives you a greater insight into the what happens here and how we work with students. Through a combination of online discussions and some short evening events you will be able to contribute to the way the college moves forward. If you would like to get involved, and are willing to contribute please let us know on this short form.

Are you a committed parent or carer of a student at OSFC?

An exciting opportunity has arisen to join our local governing body (LGB) and make a real difference to our college and our community!

We are currently seeking two dedicated individuals to join our LGB as parent governors.

As a parent governor, you will play a vital role in shaping the future of our college. You will have the opportunity to contribute to strategic decision making, ensuring that the voice of parents is represented at the highest level. No previous experience is necessary, just a genuine interest in the education and well-being of our students and a commitment to the role.

The election process is open to any parent who has a child currently registered at the college. The term ‘parent’ is taken to include a guardian/carer or anyone who has parental responsibility for a student here at OSFC.

Further information is available in this letter and an online nomination form can be found on our website here.

Completed nomination forms and candidate statements should be returned to the Lead Governance Professional, Danielle Hunt, by email danielle.hunt@pinnacleLT.ac.uk or at College by noon on Wednesday 2 October 2024.

For any further information, please email Danielle or telephone 0161 287 8000 extension 2519.

Within the first fortnight of term, over 1300 new students will have received a Chromebook to use during their time at OSFC. This has been a very successful roll out and we are delighted to be able to continue to provide a Chromebook for every student at college.

Once issued with a device it is the expectation that students will bring the device to every lesson, ensuring that it is charged. At the end of their time with us students will return the devices and chargers. There will be no cost to students for the loan of these devices but costs may be incurred if devices are lost or damaged in accordance with our acceptable usage policy, which will have been outlined and signed during their first tutorial session and can be found here.

Any student who doesn't have a Chromebook can pick one up from The Know anytime outside of their timetabled lessons. They will need their ID and a bag.

A reminder that we have a brand new parents' section on our website, full of information and support regarding student wellbeing and safeguarding. It can be accessed through the 'Parents' button on our homepage or via this link here.

Our physical and mental health is of utmost importance and in difficult economic times it is more important than ever to be mindful of our own stresses and anxieties and, where we can, to resolve them. Click here to view resources for mental health support on our website.

The college uses Google Classroom extensively in teaching and learning and students quickly become fluent in completing assignments on the platform. Parents will receive a summary of assignments that have been set by subject teachers and deadlines for work completion. This can be very useful when helping daughters and sons schedule their work.

I hope you found this edition an engaging and useful read. As ever, if you have any feedback on this newsletter, or any other aspect of college, please email me at parentfeedback@osfc.ac.uk.

I hope everyone has a great start to their year.

Yours sincerely,

Suzannah Reeves

Associate Principal