• Both Y12 and Y13 parents/carers were emailed with a letter this week with details of upcoming events. If parents/carers did not receive this email please let us know (but see the links in the Year sections below). The key event this week is the 'Meet the Tutor' opportunity on Thursday 17 September which means there are no P4 or P5 lessons that day.  And here is another link to guidance on how to book and access a tutor appointment on Thursday.

• Please note the coming week is a Week Two. We have a two week timetable.

• ViP starts for all students this week and also Extension Studies for Y12.

• Ella, our cover and enrichment co-ordinator, is busy preparing for the Enrichment Fair on Thursday 24 September before clubs/societies start meeting the following week. If you would like to run a society please see Ella asap (just ask for her at reception) or email mcleane@smrt.bristol.sch.uk  

• The Senior Students are running a quiz in the Common Room on Wednesday lunchtime. Please attend and join in!

• The 1625 Independent People's heritage team has been running heritage projects and activities for young people as part of our planned extensive rebuild of our historic building Kingsley Hall. They will be coming into school on Wednesday 30 September at 12.30pm in G10 to talk about volunteering opportunities at the 1625 Heritage project (more info here: https://www.1625ip.co.uk/history-of-kingsley-hall/). Projects so far have included a soundscape of Old Market (where we are based), a book of creative writing in collaboration with a local care home, and two short creative films on social housing, co-created by a diverse range of young people across Bristol and S. Glos. They are currently working on some podcasts, and in November they will be running a careers event.

• If you think that you might be eligible for free school meals you are strongly encouraged to make a claim for this through the Bristol on-line system which can be found through our website. These meals can be claimed through our Sixth Form canteen or at main school. Families facing financial challenges should also consider making an application to our Bursary Fund. Guidance and the application form is on our website. St Mary Redcliffe and Temple School - Financial Support (smrt.bristol.sch.uk) This does require a disclosure of financial information to the school except in the case of children in care or in receipt of Free School Meals. 

• If you carry or regularly use medication during the school day you should have told us this. Remember you are responsible for updating us on any changes to medication or health circumstances through the year. 

• Horizons are in school on Thursday between 12.30pm and 1pm in the Meeting Room on the ground floor opposite G10. 

  Want to have a confidential chat about drugs and/or alcohol ?

  A Horizons Youth Worker will be available weekly on Thursday lunchtimes to offer non- judgemental advice and information around substance use. 

  They are here for :

• Any questions you have about a specific substance and how to reduce harm when using
• Any concerns you have about your own or someone else’s substance use

• Come to the Ground Floor Meeting Room -opposite G10 on Thursdays between 12.30-1pm.

• Referring yourself or someone you know for 1:1 support from Horizons

• Please remember that if students are ill or absent we do expect parents/carers to phone or email and tell us or leave a message BEFORE the start of the school day where possible. Have the 6th form number (0117 3532073) and the attendance officer direct line (0117 3773465) on your phone. Also call if you are significantly delayed in traffic. If it is easier then email 6thform@smrt.bristol.sch.uk . Absences known in advance require a form to be completed which is available from reception.  

• We are delighted how well Y12 are settling in. Hopefully they are excited about being able to focus in depth on the subjects they really love. In registration and assembly over these next two weeks we will be outlining the various means of support we have for students and also starting to unveil the great range of opportunities for enrichment and volunteering that we provide.

• Y12 Parental Briefing- You should have received this letter on Tuesday with key information for the year including an invite to the Y12 Parental Briefing on Wednesday 16 September.

• Please note when students have registration or assembly they need to be in the Sixth Form building in their tutor room or the common room for an 8.30am start. Y12 have registration on Monday or Tuesday this week, and then assembly on Wednesday.

• Y12 students will receive their actual student ID cards to go into their lanyards in registration on Monday/Tuesday. 

• Extension Studies and ViP/tutorials start this week. Students should see this lesson on their Bromcom timetables.

• IT- Hopefully students are now set up their SMRT Microsoft 365 account and also on Bromcom. These links might be useful if not (but any problems let Mr Shaw know): St Mary Redcliffe and Temple School - Microsoft365 and SharePoint Support and St Mary Redcliffe and Temple School - Bromcom Student Support

• Sharepoint- An excellent online resource for students. Please can all Y12 students go to the Student Hub in sharepoint on SMRT Microsoft 365 to find the links to their subjects. Favourite the Hub site itself, and favourite each of your subject sites when you enter them. Doing so will pin the sites to your SharePoint home page. A link to the Hub is in their start menu, and on the school website under Quicklinks. The direct link is:https://smrtschool.sharepoint.com/sites/TheStudentHub/

• English Lang/Maths GCSE Students- If students are hoping to sit the November resit in English Lang and/or Maths but already have a grade higher than a 3 in that subject please can you let Mr. Shaw know asap. 

• Transition mentor meetings: As students will know, these are happening all next week to give students an opportunity to meet with Year 13s from their previous school or with Year 13s who might also have joined us not knowing that many people (and in the process you will meet lots of other Y12s in the same situation) and share your experience and questions so far. These sessions are compulsory! 

• Deposit letter- Students should have brought home a personalised letter on Monday with access codes to create a payment account on. You will need this for the deposit and for other payments during the two years. Please pay the deposit as soon as you can. The payment is £30, which you get back when all books are returned when students leave us. 

• Locker Keys are available from reception – these require a £5 deposit paid through scopay.

• Access Arrangements: Y12 Students - If students were not at Redcliffe main school and had access arrangements (extra time, use of a word processor, rest breaks etc.) for your GCSEs then you should have entered this on to Applicaa and we will be processing that and in touch with you shortly. If you haven’t done this or if you did not have access arrangements at GCSE but would like to discuss the possibility of having them, please email Miss Rigby (rigbya@smrt.bristol.sch.uk). The Learning Support department will be meeting with people and running tests later in the term.  

• Students- Make sure you have followed the redcliffe6thform Instagram feed to be kept up to speed with what is being organised.

• Full Y13 Assembly on Tuesday and then registration on Wednesday or Thursday. 

• ViP/Tutorials start this week. 

• Here is a letter that parents/carers were sent on Monday with key information for the year ahead including the Y13 Parental Briefing on Wednesday 30 September.

• On Wednesday 16 September at 12.30pm- G10- Our schools and colleges liaison officer from Trinity Hall will be coming into Sixth Form for anyone in Y13 applying to Oxford or Cambridge that would like to discuss their application and get some further personal statement guidance, and if you have any questions.

• Supplementary options - If you are not doing a supplementary course, such as Maths Studies or EPQ and so are planning to do volunteering or work-experience then you should be completing a form for Ella – by far the simplest and probably the most valuable option is to do some in-class support of younger students at main school. Talking to your teachers to see how and when you could help them for an hour or two per week is a great way to sort this out quickly. 

• Access Arrangements- We do not need to re-test students in Y13 who had access arrangements approved last year, but if you didn’t have access arrangements but would like to discuss the possibility of having them, please email Mrs Apps.

• If you have dropped a subject from last year please get the books back to us on Monday so they can be re-used. 

Connect: One-to-One   

It’s important as social creatures that we connect with others. Connecting means we are understood and supported, and in turn, we have understood others and supported them. Your challenge this week is to spend time with someone – it might be someone from a different school who has come to Redcliffe, it might be an old friend, it might be your best friend!  Try to be a bit open about your week and how you feel about coming back to school after the summer, or the joys and challenges of starting something new. Connecting with others promotes good mental health.  

Hello all – welcome back! I hope you have been enjoying your lessons and settling into the school routine. There are lots of brilliant opportunities to get involved in already.

All of our live progression opportunities from the Newsletter are accessible in our Progression Site at www.6thformprog.blogspot.com, including more detail on the items below, and if you would like an appointment with Steve James, our careers advisor, then please contact reception or speak to your tutor to book a slot.

Year 12 and 13:

• Future Leaders is a free year-long leadership programme that helps build skills, and provides opportunities such as work experience and attending workshops. Deadlines close on the 1 October and it offers both in-person and online opportunities.

See more at: https://www.futureleaders.uk/

• Access to Bristol. This is an enrichment opportunity offered by the University of Bristol for students living in Bristol. It provides students with a way to experience what studying at the University of Bristol might be like, and subjects offered.

For Year 12 students, you’ll be able to apply for opportunities in the spring. For year 13 students, there are experiences offered this Autumn.

The deadline is: 27^th September 2026.

For Year 13 students, the deadline for Access to Bristol is:

• Shape My City. An opportunity to gain experience in architecture, engineering and urban design. Applications open now for opportunities in October to July. https://www.designwest.org.uk/shape-my-city/
• Regeneration Brainery. Offering a free multi-day programme of workshops and a glimpse in to construction, property and regeneration industry.

See more at: https://www.regenerationbrainery.co.uk/about

• Super-curricular is different from extra-curricular (hobbies and activities) in that it is about stretching yourself academically beyond the narrow A Level syllabus, and it is something all the best A Level students will be doing. You can find our recommended reading list on our website at: St Mary Redcliffe and Temple School - Study Links (smrt.bristol.sch.uk) 

• If you are a science A Level student you should absolutely be flipping through the New Scientist magazine every week to keep up with research. We have a hard copy in the library and a login you can access with the email address 6thformlibrary@smrt.bristol.sch.uk and the password Redcliffe.  

• Bristol University have produced lots of resources, including online lectures, to support students in exploring HE options or super-curricular research, You can sign up for access to these at Virtual resources for students | Study at Bristol | University of Bristol 

• Bristol Festival of Ideas rumbles on, which the full index of talks at https://www.bristolideas.co.uk/attend/?pageNumber=1  

• Another fantastic reservoir of free on-line lectures to add power to your University personal statement can be found through Gresham College at https://www.gresham.ac.uk/  

• Swansea University has a great range of webinars related to the full range of Uni course they offer and wider issues at https://www.swansea.ac.uk/study/webinar-series/  

• Speakers for Schools run an excellent series of online talks relating to particular areas of work through the year. The full list is at Upcoming Broadcasts - Speakers for Schools.  

Key support information 

• Mental Health support page on our website - Health-and-Wellbeing-Sources-of-Support.pdf (smrt.bristol.sch.uk) 

• For really well pitched advice on mental health for young people check out this podcast, recommended by the Senior Students - https://linktr.ee/unboxedpodcast  

• Another great resource on Self-Care with loads of suggestions and ideas to try out to help build new habits which can support our wellbeing is here: https://www.annafreud.org/on-my-mind/self-care/  

• The Centre has sanitary products available if you ever need them. We try and keep a stock in toilets, with mentors and Millie and at reception if you need anything. 

• Condom Cards: Redcliffe Sixth Form have now been linked onto the C-Card scheme because practising SAFE sex is important. C-Card is a free and confidential condom distribution scheme for young people aged 13-25 living in Bristol. Once signed up you can collect condoms and lube for free from several outlets. Millie will be your C-Card representative in the Sixth Form, and you can collect them from her at any time during the day. Collecting condoms will be private, free, and completely confidential. Please drop her an email at feldmanm@smrt.bristol.sch.uk  or just pop by the office opposite G10 to have a private chat.  

• Remember you can always speak to our learning mentors, and Millie, for help or visit the Brook website for more information about sexual health, contraception, pregnancies, counselling, PREP (help with HIV) and more. https://www.brook.org.uk/