Following the highly successful Sixth Form Open Evening in October, 19 Year 11 students from 13 schools in Bristol and South Gloucestershire took part in Sixth Form Options Morning on Friday.
They joined Colston’s Year 11 for the morning with most staying for lunch and some even staying on in the afternoon to take part in Year 12 timetabled lessons.
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Peter Jones, Head of Sixth Form, greets three visiting Year 11 students at the start of their Sixth Form Options Morning at Colston’s. |
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The day started with an address to all by Headmaster Peter Fraser in the Chatterton Hall.
“This morning is very important to you all,” he said. “It’s for you, and it marks the beginning of a set of choices which will direct your life.
“It’s important to make these decisions for yourself. Of course it’s fine to listen to others, but be careful to make the decisions which are right for you.
“In doing so, you should be ambitious. You should want to be very successful. There are very few short cuts to success, but you will do much to ensure success by making quality decisions.
“This morning you will find out something about five subjects to help make A Level choices. When you make this choice we recommend quality, not quantity. In the Sixth Form you should be doing more than just studying. If you just study you can become a very one dimensional person.”
Mr Fraser reminded students that at this time in 2012 they would be completing their UCAS university application forms.
“It will be very competitive,” he continued. “We can’t change that. But we can make sure here that you get the best possible grades so that you are strongly placed.
“But that challenge is as nothing compared with getting your first job. Obviously we are concerned with grades throughout your time in the Sixth Form, but the most important thing to me is what sort of person are you when you leave school. What personal skills have you developed.
“At Colston’s the Sixth Form is about developing as a person. We encourage you to work hard, get good grades and aim to impress as a person.
“My ambition is that young people who walk out of these gates at their end of the Sixth Form at Colston’s are impressive people with successful lives ahead.”
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A welcoming handshake from Headmaster Peter Fraser.
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Speaking afterwards to visiting students, Mr Fraser said: “This is a close knit, friendly, family school. Within a month you will think you have been here for ever. You immediately feel at home.”
By the time they gathered in the Headmaster’s study at lunch time for a debrief, it was clear they were settling in, and getting on fine with each other.
Mr Fraser confirmed that they were all welcome to return to the school at a time to suit them, and could find out what Lower Sixth lessons are really like by doing a Taster Day.
“You will be put under no pressure whatsoever to transfer here,” he said. “It’s entirely your decision. You all have a Guide to Sixth Form courses, and there are no entrance examinations at this level.”
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Mr Fraser talking to visiting students in the Chatterton Hall. |
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And the reaction from the visitors?
“We’ve been made to feel so welcome this morning. You naturally feel nervous coming into a different school with a whole lot of people you don’t know, but I will remember the smiling faces and friendliness of everyone.”
Three were from single sex schools.
“There doesn’t seem to be any division between the boys and girls here. They all get on fine.”
Any trouble finding the way around?
“I actually got lost twice, but I only had to ask and was directed back on course!”
What had attracted them to Colston’s?
“Apart from academic success, Colston’s reputation for sport was of real interest to me. I actually thought we might encounter sports superstars, all bigger than us, but that hasn’t been the case.”
Lunch was beckoning, so the discussion ended with everyone selecting the session which had interested the most.
Of the 15 in the room, four voted for chemistry, four for philosophy, three for sports studies, two for psychology, one for history and one for maths.
Then it was off to the dining room with new friends.
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