ASHTON SIXTH FORM COLLEGE
Spring Newsletter Spring
ISSUE 7
30/01/24
Hello and welcome to the ASFC spring term newsletter First of all, I’d like to wish all of our ASFC community and friends a very happy New Year. I don’t think anyone has told the weather yet that we’re in the spring term, but maybe that’s far too hopeful and best we can hope for through January and February is that we are spared the extremes of bad weather. We have welcomed back our students who report being very appreciative of the Christmas break following a demanding autumn term. It is lovely to have them back, they have settled into work well over the last couple of weeks, with many preparing for and sitting BTEC exams and various controlled assessments. The wide range of courses we offer at ASFC means that the “exams window” is a very wide one, there are only around six weeks of the academic year that exams are not taking place in college – thankfully, we have a dedicated, hardworking Exams Department! On the subject of exams, a huge congratulations is in order for our students who took resits in Maths and English GCSEs in November. Their results came out on 11th January with a pass rate (students achieving a grade 4 or above) of over 40%. This is already above the national average and is only the first sitting, so I am hopeful of excellent results again in the summer. Well done to those who achieved their grade 4 – such an achievement, but those who haven’t yet achieved it yet should not be disheartened, they have a very good chance in the summer. There is much to look forward to this term. Outside of lessons, the second round of enrichment has been launched and will begin in late January, giving students a further opportunity to develop new skills and make new friends. Speaker of the Month continues. Last term we had talks from an entrepreneur, an actor/writer and a mathematician. This term, we are lining up a comic book artist, an author and a successful band. I am delighted to say that we have also managed to secure a talk from Lady Milena Grenfell-Baines, a holocaust survivor, aged 94 who came to live in Ashton and went to school in Mossley. Lady Milena is one of the main characters in the film ‘One Life’ that stars Anthony Hopkins which is showing in cinemas around the world now. She is currently in high demand by the media from all over the world, so we are very honoured to have her visit us. Building upon the success of last year’s student-led Culture Day, our Student Council are busy planning this year’s event. There are plans for food, music, dancing, a fashion show and a visit from the Civic Mayor of Tameside. It looks set to be a great event. There’s lots going on in curriculum too including guest speakers and a variety of trips and visits. A particular highlight is Concept 2050, an initiative run within our 3D Art and Design course, whereby students demonstrate their architecture skills by producing a design and model of their vision for ASFC of the future. The event will be attended by industry professionals and is a great opportunity for students to work on a live brief and be critiqued on this. Our EPQ-ers are now fully absorbed in their research and will be presenting their findings in our EPQ Presentation on 21st March. Like last year, we will invite in parents/carers to come in and see their work –prepare to be impressed! Well, that’s quite enough from me. Here’s to a productive and happy spring term Lisa