• Thank you to Ella and the Y13s involved in planning the Enrichment assembly this coming Wednesday for Y12 and the Enrichment Fair.
• The assembly and the fair will promote lots of the amazing enrichment, volunteering and work experience opportunities in Sixth Form, including all of the mostly student-led clubs and societies. Hopefully everyone finds something that they are interested in, but if you don't you can always start up a new society!
• And thank you to Mr White for organising a trip for Y13 Politics students to Westminster this week.

Key Events This Week

• GCSE Maths or English Lang resit November- If any student in Y12 or Y13 is planning on resitting English Lang or Maths please can they complete this link asap: GCSE Exam entry

• Thursday 24 September- Due to the Main School Opening Evening on Wednesday, lessons will not begin on Thursday until P2 (10.20am). However the building will be open as normal on Thursday morning from 8am for students to use the library and computer rooms. 

• As the library starts to get busier as teachers increase the work they set students to complete independently, students have been sent the silent study room timetable if the library is full: Silent study rooms.pub

• On Friday 9 October all students studying Philosophy and/or RE will be attending a talk by Philosopher and writer Julian Baggini on the topic of 'How to think Philosophically'. This will be from 2.30pm-3pm in the Common Room. All other students not studying Philosophy or RE are welcome to attend as well.

• Timings of the day- Please can we remind everyone that the Sixth Form building is open for students to use Monday-Thursday (8am-4pm) and then Friday (8am-3pm). Students should only be in the building outside these times under staff supervision, for example for a twilight lesson or a catch up session in the library. If not they need to leave the building by 4pm Monday-Thursday and 3pm on a Friday.

• Please make sure you read the super-curricular challenge section of the newsletter (towards the end) with a link to our recommended reading list.

• RAG Charity nominations – Every year we nominate two charities to fundraise for as a 6th form, and ideally ones with which a student has some personal investment. Last year we raised more than £1500. The senior students are planning this, and would appreciate your ideas, but first we need to choose the charities so start thinking of possibilities. If there is a charity that you would like to propose should be one of the two we raise money for please let Ella and the Senior Students know via this link: RAG Charity Nominations - 2026

• Free School Meals-  If students were receiving Free School Meals in secondary school they should now be on our system and be able to receive them from our canteen. If there is any problem please ask them to see and Millie Feldman, our Pastoral Mentor, in the Pastoral Office, opposite G10. Or if you think they may be eligible there is a link to apply online on the Sixth Form website: St Mary Redcliffe and Temple School - Financial Support

• Bursary- If you are in receipt of Free School Meals you could be eligible for some financial support from the 6th form Bursary - but you must apply for this. The link is also on the 6th Form site- St Mary Redcliffe and Temple School - Financial Support. Y13s who were in receipt of the Bursary last year or have already applied this process usually takes up to 6 weeks to process it may take longer dependant on the amount of applications we receive. 

• Young Carers-  We are aware lots of our students have caring responsibilities at home. It would be really helpful to ensure we are fully supporting students to know if this is the case. Please can students share with either Millie (feldmanm@smrt.bristol.sch.uk), their tutor or their Head of Year.

• 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.

• Y12 have registration on Monday (Group 1) or Tuesday (Group 2).

• It is then a full Y12 Assembly on Wednesday 23 September in our common room. 

• Thanks to all Y12 Parents/Carers who were able to attend the Parental Briefing on Wednesday. A recording and the slides will be shared early next week.

• Y12 Parents/Carers should now have access to the My Child At School (MCAS) Bromcom App and should have received an email with login details. Any issues firstly read through this link St Mary Redcliffe and Temple School - Bromcom Parent/Carer Support but if that does not help please contact us.

• Deposit letter- Students should have brought home a personalised letter with access codes to create a payment account, or if they were previously at SMRT, a letter just explaining the deposit. 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. If you have not received a personalised letter with access codes to create a payment account, then please email Finance@smrt.bristol.sch.uk for a duplicate.

• 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/

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

• We have full Y13 registration on Wednesday, due to the later start for school on the Thursday.

• UCAS Early Entry Internal Deadline- This is on Friday 2 October for those applying for Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary courses and/or applying to Oxford or Cambridge Unversities.

• Y13 Subject Mentors should be preparing for the subject mentor sessions on Wed 7 October. Ella has contacted all subject mentors with the details.

• Into University are meeting with lots of students on Thursday or Friday in the meeting room opposite G10. Students should know if they have an appointment and the timings. There are a few places left for anyone in Y13 keen to get some extra help with personal statements. Let Mr Shaw know asap if interested.

• We then have Not Impossible coming in on Tuesday at 12.30pm in Room 102 for those that we think would benefit from support with organising work experience. There are a few spaces left for Y13 students www.teamnotimpossible.com . Let Mr Shaw know asap if interested.

• 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 Miss Foster. 

Connect – Wider Community  

As we learned last week, as social creatures, it is really important that we connect with others – even the NHS widely talks about this as a fundamental pillar of both mental and physical health. This 6th form has loads of opportunities to do that through clubs and societies or social activities. Ella and the senior students are working hard to make this year one of the best and brightest for social activity. It might actually be in the clubs and societies that you find your sense of belonging as you find people who have the same passions or interests, which you may not have immediately found in class. BE BOLD this week – say yes to things. Connecting with our community promotes good mental health. 

All of our live progression opportunities from the Newsletter are accessible in our Progression Site at www.6thformprog.blogspot.com, (e.g. £10,000 optometry scholarship!) 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.

Hello all,

There are already so many fantastic progression related opportunities for you to get involved with. Below are some highlights, but please make sure you are checking the Progression Blog for more!

Year 12 and 13:

• As you heard in assembly, Access to Bristol applications are open and the deadline is the 27^th September. For Year 12 students, you’ll be able to apply for opportunities in the spring. If you know you want to apply for Medicine, Dentistry or Veterinary Science, you will only be able to complete Access to Bristol opportunities related to this in Year 12. For Year 13 students, there are experiences offered this Autumn.
• Discover Bristol and Next Step Bristol – these are online widening participation opportunities also offered by the University of Bristol. The university has made me aware that there are lots of spaces still available for both of these programmes. Check out eligibility criteria and apply here: www.bristol.ac.uk/study/outreach/
• 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/

• 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/

Year 13:

• Those of you who are applying to UCAS as early entry applicants, please be aware of the internal school deadline of the 2^nd October. Please check college/course information for any entry exam deadlines, for example, the LNAT is the 15^th September.
• Music conservatoires have a deadline of the 1st October.
• All personal statements need to be drafted on Unifrog, to ensure teachers are editing the same document. The process of editing personal statements is as follows: drafts should first be sent to tutors, then to subject teachers, and finally the progression team.
• Apprenticeship highlight: HSBC Degree Level Apprenticeship. This is a paid, permanent role in the banking sector, working with individual clients or businesses on financial solutions, alongside a fully funded degree and professional qualification. Applications open: Week Commencing 28th September 2026 (for a programme start of November 2027).

• 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/