Principal's Speech Video - Text Version
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[View of Ann Barrow, the Principal, standing at the lectern in the theatre]
Ann Barrow - speaking
Welcome to St Brendan's Sixth Form College. I'm Ann Barrow and I'm the Principal here. Thank you for entrusting your sons and daughters to us here at St Brendan's and joining our college comunity here. I have to be honest with you and say that not everybody who applied was actually admitted to the College. So we're delighted to welcome your young people to be in the College. We are the only specialist 16-19 institution on one safe, secure site. And we were lucky enough to be almost totally rebuilt in 2009. And for your young people that means they've got the glory of all these new buildings, without having had to put up with all the mud and the noise and the dust and so on. So I'm hoping they're going to enjoy being here.
[View of the theatre facing the seats; a teacher talking to a number of students during a Drama lesson]
Ann Barrow - voiceover
This theatre, for example, is of commercial standard and yet it's the everyday teaching environment for the Drama and Theatre Studies students.
[View of Ann Barrow in the theatre]
Ann Barrow - voiceover
[View of science labs]
Science labs, that I know as a chemist, are second to none.
[View of Ann Barrow in the theatre]
Ann Barrow - speaking
Universities would welcome them.
[View of Creative Arts suites]
Ann Barrow - voiceover
We have Creative Arts suites that are built on an open-plan basis quite deliberately,
[View of Ann Barrow in the theatre]
Ann Barrow - speaking
...so that one discipline can see the work of another and you get that cross-fertilization of ideas that means that there's a ratcheting up of the quality and the breadth and depth of work. We have wonderful IT facilities - very lucky to have a ratio of one computer for every two students.
[View of IT suites]
Ann Barrow - voiceover
And often those are available in open, drop-in basis workshops where they can access that both inside lesson time and outside.[View of Library]
Ann Barrow - voiceover
Our Library provides this wonderful open, light, airy space as well - more like a university library again, not only with the text books that they've been issued with, but also just about most text books for that subject at that level.
[View of Ann Barrow in the theatre]
Ann Barrow - speaking
And also a wide range of daily newspapers, professional journals that many of your students will be working with. And also CDs, DVDss and, not surprisingly, internet access as well. So they've got a wide, wide range of resources. Our Careers area is also located in the Library. We actually employ our own Careers Officer four days a week. So, if your son or daughter wants an appointment, they simply have to go, sign up on her door when they're not in lessons, and she can start them off on that path, even now, even though it is very much an integrated part of the tutorial programme.
[View of Multi-Purpose Hall]
Ann Barrow - voiceover
So, it's world-class accommodation that your young people have got here.[View of fitness equipment in gymn]
[View of Ann Barrow in theatre]
Ann Barrow - speaking
I'd like to introduce you to some senior staff that are very important, key people in your sons' and daughters' lives, most of whom are sitting here, I'm relieved to see as I look to my left. Because quite often they get called out on evenings like this to help with various groups. We divide the college into four main areas and in charge of each of those is a Curriculum Director.
[View of Pippa Coles, Andy Creed, Nigel Falkinder and Keith Gee seated in the theatre to Ann Smith's left]
Ann Barrow - voiceover
So if I can start by introducing Keith Gee.
Keith Gee - speaking
Good evening.
Ann Barrow - voiceover
At the far right for you...sorry! And then we have Nigel Falkinder.
Nigel Falkinder - speaking
Welcome.
Ann Barrow - voiceover
And Andy Creed.
Nigel Falkinder - speaking
Hello.
Ann Barrow - voiceover
And Pippa Coles.
Pippa Coles - speaking
Good evening.
Ann Barrow - speaking
[View of Ann Barrow]
In addition we have Marion Welton here this evening, but she's based in Café Max. And you'll be able to get an opportunity to meet her at the end of your session with your SSM. Um, she wanted me to pass on some really important information about any young person who has a special entitlement in exams, for extra time, or maybe for the use of a laptop, um, special conditions. We're starting to do exam entries now. That deadline is going to come up on us very soon. So if your youngster has any such entitlement, we need to see the paperwork. We need to see any tests that were carried out, any reports that were produced. So please make sure that she gets those, either this evening, if you have them on you, or they're passed into College very quickly. If we don't meet the deadline, we won't be able to meet your son or daughter's requirements. And we are usually very good at that, so please make sure you help her. And then we have the Assistant Principal, who is actually the chap at the back there that ushered many of you in, uh, Ken McKenzie. And we also have the Vice Principal Maddie Woolfenden.
[View of Maddie Woolfenden]
Maddie Woolfenden - speaking
Good evening.
[Camera pans to left to view of Tony Smith]
Ann Barrow - voiceover
And then Tony Smith is the one nearest to me - he's our acting Chair of Governors - and he's going to speak to you shortly.
Tony Smith - speaking
(Tony Smith) Good evening.
[Camera returns to Ann Barrow]
Ann Barrow - speaking
Our standards here are very high at St Brendan's. This summer's results were extremely good news for most of our students. We have 38 students getting 3 or more A*s and As.
[External view of College buildlings in the background. In the foreground, students are sitting in the landscaped gardens area]
Ann Barrow - voiceover
And 3 of those got 5 A*s and As. With our first year students, 40 students got 3 grade As. There are no A*s at that level, by the way. And 2 of those got 5 grade As. Over 30% of our BTEC students got Distinctions. Now those carry the same university entrance points as those very high grade A levels.
[View of Ann Barrow in theatre]
Ann Barrow - speaking
So as you can see we do very well by young people. Now, as many of you will appreciate, what I am going to say is we fully expect your sons and daughters to have the same high achievement if they follow what our staff ask them to do. If they do the work, if they attend well and are punctual, there is no reason why they also shouldn't have the opportunity to go to premium universities for specialist courses. And that includes things like medicine, dentistry, architecture, where we have lots of our students going. We have even had students - three of them now not just one - work their way through the levels, to take a level 1 course, then level 2 then spend two years doing A levels and have gone off to university very successfully. So there is no limit on their achievement. What really matters is that your sons and daughters work hard and follow the advice and guidance given.
We're not just an exam factory though. We look particularly for personal growth - the whole person. And what we're recognising is that when they come in, they're very much a school child. By the time they leave us, we want them to be more mature and behaving as adults as they enter either the employment market or go off to university. We don't expect you to have the specialist knowledge to help them with these subjects they're studying. What we would beg of you please is as they come home and start chattering away about their latest developments in Psychology or Law or whatever it is, you do the bit about nodding meaningfully and saying "mmmm" and trying to encourage them. Because if they want to come home and talk about these things, they're obviously fully engaged with their learning. And that's fantastic. We want to work with you to make sure we're providing the right environment for learning both here and you're able to provide that at home.
We foster spiritual growth as well which is why our general R.E. programme very much challenges each individual to consider how they would react in different situations, what their faith and their spiritual journey is - that personal growth along that path. We also expect students, not surprisingly, to behave as adults. We treat them that way - we'll open doors for them, we expect them to open them for us. And to treat each other courteously and respectfully. Most students understand that right from the start. We do know though that one or two have come from fairly challenging school environments. They haven't always made that quick and easy change. And we would just encourage them to keep, by being reminded, that they maybe need to maybe talk a little quieter, not be quite so raucous. And we would hope that you would help us with that. If we have to challenge a student and let you know at home, I can assure you it's not the first time we'll have been doing that. As adults we try and talk to them first, encourage them to behave slightly differently. So if we are contacting home, there's usually a good reason and we would ask that you really find out what it's about and try and work with us and your son or daughter to rectify the issue.
We want them to succeed here. I'd emphasize, in order to do that, there's a lot of support. Subject workshops are available on a weekly basis. And that can just as much helping those who have maybe missed time because they were ill, as those who want to improve their grades. And not just if they're feeling a little wobbly about a subject, but actually to get the very highest of grades. Often those who come out with those wonderful grades I mentioned have been attending those workshops on a regular, week-by-week basis.
Naturally, we expect your sons and daughters to attend. Ofsted have a little mantra that says: if they're not here, they're not learning. And I think that's fairly obvious to us all, but not always to a 16-19 year old that thinks: "Maybe I can easily catch up". So I would ask that they consider their attendance as they would if they were going to work. In other words, if they wake up with a bit of a headache, maybe take the paracetamol as you or I would do and get in to College. And not just be too easily forgiving of themselves. If they miss, they can fall behind quite quickly. It's partly why the workshops are there, but it can't redeem a situation if there's constant not attending. And also: holidays - please don't let them take a holiday in term time.
We actually have very few weeks here at College. The pace works very fast. Four weeks of College life have already passed us by. It'll only be another 25 working weeks 'til they're sitting their exams in May. And in fact for many of them, they'll take their first AS level exams in January. And that'll be only 10 working weeks away. Now I get quite frightened thinking of that! And of course many of your youngsters don't have that sense of urgency yet. And that's why we want them to get down to work quickly and make sure the quality of the work they produce is of a very high standard.
So this evening is part of this plan that we have to try and make sure that we're drawing you back in closer to the educational institution. We know that when they're little, you see the primary school teacher regularly. It gets a longer distance between home and school as they progress to Year 11. We'd like to bind you back in so that between us, we can provide that support, so that they're ready, if they wish to, to go off to university as a fully-fledged adult at the end of their time here.
Part of our success is our unique ethos and of course the fact that we are specializing in just 16-19 year olds. We don't have to worry about 12 year olds running round. And one part of that recipe is our specialist tutorial system here. We don't just have every teacher acting as a tutor. We've asked fifteen members of the teaching staff to take on this specialist responsibilty. They only have a half teaching timetable and the rest of their time they're tutoring a portfolio of five tutor groups. They're specialists in this age range. They offer strong guidance and support. They're clear about what they want, but they are very encouraging and very supportive.
Please, when you get the details, as you have had in your letter, if you think there are issues you need to raise with us to help your son and daughter get success, or wish to let us know about anything that's concerning you, don't hesitate to do so. That person acts really as a one-stop shop for both your sons and daughters and for you - the first point of contact in the College. And therefore that's one of the main focuses of this evening. They'll talk to you about good studentship. They'll talk to you about how complicated this phase of your sons' and daughters' lives is. We know that they have got to be able to make decisions for themselves. They will make mistakes and our joint role is to try and stand them back up on their feet, just as you did when they were two years old and learning to walk, and set them off again. And some of it does require guidance so they don't make poor decisions and some of it is allowing them to make some decisions that they have to then pick up some consequences from. And it has to be within this guided support. That's why we value tutoring so very much.
Before you meet your SSM however, I'd like to invite Tony Smith, acting Chair of Governors, just to have a word with you about another way in which you can help your sons and daughters. Tony.
[Tony Smith walks to the lectern]
Tony Smith - speaking
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. On behalf of the Governing Body, may I welcome you here today to, what Ann has referred to frequently over the last few months, as a world attraction here. It really is a place of excellence. Some ten years or so ago, we had 800 students at St Brendan's and the Governors and the Senior Management sat down to work out how we were going to get better results and improve the environment for the children of people like yourselves. And we decided - and this is where the role of the Governor is important, because they have responsibilities - we decided to invest in buildings, in land and buildings, to create what you see today. And it has taken us five or six years to get to this stage. We don't get financed in the same way as schools. We have to raise money ourselves. We do get grants from time to time, when we apply for them. But we also run with an overdraft. We have a current overdraft of over £2 million. But we have invested, over the last few years, some £20 million into these premises, to give your children the best.
Now, as I said, I've been a Governor for about ten years. Ten years ago, I sat where you are. My youngest lad was just starting here. And somebody stood in a similar place, asking for a volunteer as a Parent-Governor. And that is my role here tonight with you. We have a vacancy for a Parent-Governor and we want somebody to fill it. It is vitally important that the views of the parents are fully reflected on the Governing Body. You should have received in the post some information and an application form, but if, perchance, you have not received that, there will be plenty of spare application forms in Café Max afterwards. All I can say to you about being a Governor, and being a Parent-Governor, it is a very, very rewarding pastime. It is not too onerous - there are five full Governing Body meetings a year and probably about five committee meetings as well. So the total time spent is not huge, but the rewards you get from it to see the development, to be part of seeing the development of this College over a period of time.
And there is more to do - more money to spend ultimately. We want to continue to improve, but we need governors to push that forward. And that is the role tonight for me to ask one of you to volunteer. If more than one of you want to volunteer, we could have a ballot, but from time to time also, there are vacancies for Foundation Governors. A Parent-Governor will run as a Governor for the period that their child is at St Brendan's. A Foundation Governor runs for four years. If you fancy the idea of being a Governor, um, you can apply for either, but the principal reason for me talking to you tonight is for the vacancy we currently have as a Parent-Governor. So if you are at all interested, please either fill the form in and send it back, or, if you want some further information, you will see me around the place, please come up to me and ask me anything you want to about it. But, may I stress, it really is a rewarding pastime. Thank you.
[Tony Smith returns to his seat and Ann Barrow walks to lectern]
Ann Barrow - speaking
Thank you, Tony.
What I'd like to do now is to, just before we disperse you to your SSMs, remind you that at the end of the evening, we invite you to come and have a drink in Café Max with us. And, of course, Tony will have plenty of those forms available. So, I'm going to pass over to Maddie Woolfenden...