OSFC Parents' Newsletter

I have always thought the Autumn/ Winter term a challenge, starting as we do in the warm sunny days of September, and closing the term in freezing temperatures, snow flurries and long, dark nights. I actually like winter, but not the travelling to work in the dark, travelling home in more dark, wearing 6 layers of clothes to keep warm and …. maybe I don’t like winter!!

I have, however, liked this term very much and enjoyed seeing how the Year 12 students have settled in; and how Year 13 with their UCAS applications completed, or very close to, are already considering life after college. There has been a lot of distance travelled so far.

Along the way Ofsted paid us a visit and gave us a glowing report. We launched the Varsity Academy with ten of our partner schools and we have celebrated the successes of the Class of ‘22 with the welcome return of Celebration Evening. Early applicants for next year's places enjoyed a very successful interview evening in November, ahead of the main interview season in the new year.

On Cedar you will have found information about this term’s assessments, and the Year 12 parents evening was an opportunity to discuss grades with teachers. Thank you for attending. You will find more assessment information below.

It might be zero degrees outside, but I think we have included some key events and updates to warm your hearts, and some information on forthcoming events in the 2023 to heat your heads. Enjoy scrolling through the newsletter

On Thursday 15 December, Oldham Sixth Form College hosted their Celebration Evening for the first time in 3 years due to the pandemic. Former students and their guests enjoyed an informal reunion with staff, before prize-winners attended a highly enjoyable ceremony, where they were presented with awards for their amazing achievements. The guest speaker for the evening was former OSFC student, Dr Charlotte Coupe, who is now a junior doctor, having studied Medicine at The University of Leeds after leaving the College.

A total of 107 Subject and Progress prizes were awarded in addition to 161 prizes for Outstanding Achievement. A further 7 special prizes were awarded including the Governors’ Prize won this year by Sophie Porter. Sophie was a worthy winner of this prize and a dedicated student during her time at OSFC achieving phenomenal grades (A*A*A) whilst thoroughly involving herself in extracurricular activities to broaden her experiences, including the roles of Vice President of the Student Executive and Student Governor. She is now studying Law at Gonville and Caius College, at the University of Cambridge.

Twenty Drama and Performing Arts students attended a three day residential trip to London. The focus was performance in its many guises, including street performers in Covent Garden, a West End Musical ‘Come From Away’ at the Phoenix Theatre, a one woman show at The Bush Theatre ‘The Kola Nut Does Not Speak English’ and the Theatre Museum within the Victoria and Albert Museum. We also had a tour and an actors’ workshop at The Globe Theatre to explore the Tempest.

English Literature and Drama students were awed by the spectacle of story and acrobatics in the Porteus production of Angela Carter's The Bloody Chamber & Other Stories and Sleeping Beauty.

Former Oldham Sixth Form student, Michael Banks, has seen his first popular-science book - The Secret Science of Baby - published this week.

For over a decade, Michael has been news editor of the international monthly magazine Physics World, where he covers the latest developments in physics. He has given talks worldwide about science and science journalism including in China, Japan and the US.

In addition to Physics World, Michael has written for Nature, BBC Focus and Science Uncovered as well as appearing on BBC Radio 4.

You can read more about him and his book, here.

A week ago Oldham Foodbank had exceeded the total number of food parcels distributed during the whole of last year by 3,600, having fed more than 17,865 people including 7201 children. Food poverty is real, with 14% of adults across the country skipping meals to save money. The local figure will be much higher. The college has been collecting donations for Oldham Foodbank, as we do every year, in support of families who can’t make ends meet.

The cost of living crisis as we know, is beginning to bite hard for many families, and anything we can do to help our community will make a difference. If you feel you can make a donation directly on the Oldham Foodbank website, please click here. Thank you for your contributions however small.

International Human Rights Day began celebrating its 75th Anniversary of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights on December 10th.

The Declaration consists of 30 articles which, at OSFC, are displayed around the college site. It's a bit of a treasure hunt so well done to an elite group of students who have, so far, managed to find all 30 in the 4 buildings on the estate!

Students are provided with a varied and wide ranging Xtras programme of activities and events that enhances their studies and enriches their experience of college. The list of opportunities is extensive, from the dissections of Anatomy Club, the team spirit of Netball, or the challenges of creating content for podcasters. Our next newsletter will feature the Xtras programme in detail but for the moment here is a taste of the work of our creative writing team who have put together an anthology of their recent work.

Find out what we have been doing to improve our green credentials below.

Please note The Know, our learning and resources centre, will be closed to students during the Christmas holidays.

Oldham Council want to ensure that those eligible for free meals on the grounds of low income receive a food payment to cover the Christmas Holiday at a rate of £30 per eligible child. This applies to all OSFC students who are in receipt of a Free College Meal.

If your son or daughter has been approved for a Free College Meal this year, they will receive a £40 to cover the holidays, and an additional £3.50 to cover the recent strike action day on 30th November. Therefore, a total payment of £43.50 will be made on Monday 19th December. The next usual bursary payment will then be made on Friday 6th January 2023.

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

We have just completed the second College Assessment Point (CAP 2) for all students. This report is more detailed than the first and gives an overall picture of how things are progressing at college.

CAP 2 grades have already been shared with students and parents via Cedar - full details were sent in this letter last week.

There is a clear link between high levels of attendance and high academic achievement. We expect all students to attend 100% of their lessons, unless there is a genuine reason for absence. Missed lessons lead to missed learning and we expect students to take pride in their attendance. To help with this we've shared Attendance Ladders which show how many actual lessons are missed at certain percentages of attendance. Even 95% attendance will lead to 27 lessons missed at the end of the year. We continue to encourage parents to use CEDAR to help check-in on attendance. If you're not sure how to do this, or have lost your log-in details please contact the college using the following email info@osfc.ac.uk. If you have particular concerns about your son or daughter's attendance then please contact their Progress Tutor directly. Their email can be found on CEDAR using the 'email Teachers' tab on the left hand-side menu.

As vocational students continue preparing for external exams in January (exam timetables can be found on Cedar), and those studying GCSEs and AS/A Levels look toward their internal assessments (mock exams) in the week beginning 27th February, students have been given revision checklists in their tutor groups which they can also access on the Tutorial site. They will find advice and help here in planning a range of effective revision exercises, exam related practice and time management. Please encourage sons and daughters to check and use this information.

Our Year 13 students have been working hard, in collaboration with their Progress Tutors, to submit their university applications in good time. At present, 614 UCAS applications have been submitted, with almost a further 500 in the process of being finalised, checked or submitted. Students have seen the benefits of making early applications, with 350 now holding at least one university offer. Students who are considering other routes, such as apprenticeships or employment, have been receiving bespoke information, advice and guidance from our experienced Futures Advisers. Pleasingly, a record 14 students have been invited to participate in online interviews for potential places at either Oxford or Cambridge University, while, for the 3rd year in succession, over 30 students have submitted applications for Medicine, Dentistry or Veterinary Science.

Please note that although the official deadline for UCAS applications is 25th January 2023, if your son or daughter hasn't yet submitted theirs, they need to do so as soon as possible to allow staff adequate time to check and finalise them.

In Year 12, students have been starting on their application journeys, considering their future paths and learning how to use the fantastic Unifrog software, supported by their Progress Tutors. They have also signed up for our additional support programmes, such as the Oxbridge Group and our Aspiring Medics’ and Aspiring Lawyers’ Programmes (AMP and ALP), and attended the first meetings of these groups.

One of the most exciting developments of the Autumn term has been the successful launch of the college’s new outreach initiative - the Varsity Academy. This project has been planned for years, but has only come to fruition in the aftermath of the Covid pandemic. The Varsity Academy will see 200 of Oldham’s most high achieving Year 10 students visit OSFC over a year-long period to access extension lessons in Maths, Science, English and the Humanities. The cohort of 200 has been drawn from all 10 of the college’s Oldham partner schools, with 20 selected by each institution. The programme has been very well received by the schools, the students’ parents and carers, and, above all, by the students themselves.

The project was launched on Tuesday 22 November, at the college, with close to 400 students and parents/carers in attendance. Indeed, demand was so high that the event had to be repeated twice in the same evening. The Varsity Academy’s goals and aspirations were outlined by Richard Lee, Assistant Principal, and designer of the programme, in collaboration with colleagues from Maths, Science, English and Humanities. The panel also included 2 ex-students, Ramzana Abdullah, now a first year Medic at Liverpool University, and Jessica Frater, who has just graduated from Cambridge University with a 1st class degree in Psychology and is about to embark on a Masters course at Oxford. The final participant was Dr Peter Claus, from Pembroke College (Oxford), Director of Pembroke’s prestigious OxNet programme with which the Varsity Academy has forged a link and which will be providing additional online support to the Varsity students. The event was a great success, with a parent contacting us to let us know that ‘the evening was amazing and the programme can only be described as a life-changing opportunity.’

Following on from the launch event, the first 2 Varsity Academy days took place on Tuesday 29 November and Thursday 1 December, with 100 students attending each day, accompanied by representatives from their respective schools. All participants greatly enjoyed the initial sessions, with the Year 10s overcoming any fears about working with students from other schools, and OSFC teachers, to participate wholeheartedly and to make the most of the activities. One student described it as her ‘best day ever’ in education. We are already looking forward to the next 2 Varsity days at the end of January 2023!

The wellbeing of our students is at the heart of all we do. We are focusing on some new initiatives next term, including a new section on the website designed to provide extra guidance for parents on supporting your children with their mental health.

We are also organising an event to help parents to make links with appropriate external agencies and also hear more about our provision for mental health support.

In the meantime, we'd like to draw your attention to our student wellbeing Google site which features online counselling services, helplines and also tools, programmes and apps for students to access help with anxiety and stress management. The site can currently only be accessed by students but we hope to share this information with all parents in the new year when the new parent section of the website is launched.

Other College wide initiatives include recruitment of new student wellbeing ambassadors, further staff training on Mental Health First Aid and trauma informed practice and student advice on looking after wellbeing delivered through tutorial sessions.

In addition to our universal offer for promotion of positive mental health, we offer bespoke support for students from our additional support team. We employ a full time wellbeing counsellor, as well as part-time counselling provision and mentoring. Progress tutors are also a regular source of support, providing consistent welfare checks. We liaise with appropriate external agencies and manage referrals, where there is need for students.

Please get in touch with your child’s progress tutor, in the first instance, should you be concerned about the mental health of your son or daughter.

The two online Year 12 parents' evenings were a great success this term, with lots of important and helpful conversations taking place between staff and parents. If you were not able to attend, please do check Cedar for the latest information on your son/daughter's attendance, CAP 2 grades, teacher comments and more.

Year 13 parents' evenings will take place on Tuesday 31st January and 9th February 2023. Again, these will take place on our online platform SchoolCloud - further information will be sent nearer to the time.

East Valley High 1985: Prom Night and Tiffany, Blake, Ashley, Erica and Robin should be at home getting ready for the party of their lives. Instead, for their various misdemeanours, they are decorating the school gym for a prom they are cordially NOT invited to... So. Harsh.

Join the staff and students at East Valley High for a detention to remember on 7th and 8th February at 7.15pm, featuring some of best loved 1980's pop hits.

Book now via the link below!

Thank you to the Parent 100 focus group who gave us some very important feedback on the college website and how we can update its navigation. You will see some changes on the website in the new year as a result. If you would like to join the Parent 100 - our parent consultation group - please email us at info@osfc.ac.uk

The next consultation will be asking for parents' evening feedback. Details will be available in the new year.

We are pleased to announce that, following the recent voting process and a very close election, Maria Ibeking has joined our Local Governing Body (LGB) as a Parent Governor.

The Governors’ work touches many aspects of the College. The LGB is responsible for overseeing the running of the College in terms of learning, standards, safety and wellbeing.

Parent Governors are valued members of the team and they play a vital role in ensuring the Governing Body is aware of the views of parents and the local community.

Maria who works as a Nurse and has 4 children, is passionate about young people and their future, and the standard of education that they receive. We very much look forward to working with Maria.

If you have changed your contact details such as mobile number, email address, home address and/or telephone number, please remember to update these with College via Cedar or info@osfc.ac.uk. It is really important that we hold your correct contact details in our records so we can send important communications to you when required or contact you in an emergency.

I hope you found this edition an engaging and useful read. Have a peaceful break over the holiday period and a very happy New Year! As ever, if you have any feedback on this newsletter, or any other aspect of college, please email me at parentfeedback@osfc.ac.uk.

Yours sincerely,

Suzannah Reeves

Associate Principal