It has been such a busy term at Cotham Post 16 and we have to start this round-up by congratulating our incredible Year 12 students on an exceptional first term at NBP16. The step up from GCSE learning is not an easy one, but this cohort has given their all to embracing the independence and ambition of our community and is feeling very much at home already. Their enthusiasm through induction and engagement with student lunchtime mixers has been fantastic. So has been their dynamic engagement for our new weekly vote to decide Friday’s walkout tune on Charnwood FM - a surprising love of retro classics so far!

The big excitement of the term was the recruitment of our fantastic new student leadership team. As ever, we were blown away by both the quality and integrity of applications. A large number of students put themselves forward for positions, working through a rigorous process of applications, references, interviews, campaigning, hustings speeches and the final day of balloting. More than 80% of the student population cast their votes. Ankit was elected President and Jess Vice President, forming a dynamic team poised to lead. In addition, the roles of Learning and Wellbeing have been entrusted to Petra and Meriel, who are committed to raising educational standards and supporting students with academic or mental health concerns both inside and outside of school. Diversity and Equity will be championed by Lola and Walid, who will continue to foster inclusivity and fairness within our already diverse Cotham NBP16 community. Salma and Karina have been appointed as leaders for Events and Charity, ensuring that the upcoming months will be filled with engaging activities and fundraising events. Khulud will serve as our Respect Ambassador, upholding healthy boundaries and gender equalities. Finally, Orsi and Bailey will lead Environment and Sustainability, drawing on their previous leadership experience to make P16 more environmentally friendly.

And the student achievement doesn’t end there. Our brilliant young people continue to dazzle us. In particular, a huge well done to Petra and Martha for your exemplary performances at the regional Youth Talks final. Exploring fascinating topics around ‘“Flora: Our Hidden Climate Crisis” (the Environmental Dangers of Floristry) and “Keep Quiet and Satisfy the System” (on Britain’s View of Education). With TEDx scouts in the audience, this was a phenomenal stage and we are so proud of what they achieved.

Congratulations also to Nasif, who attended an MMI prep morning at Clifton College this term, which he had access to as part of the BEP. We received absolutely glowing feedback that he seemed confident, interested, and curious. He chatted with GPs, surgeons, nurses, and current medical students to gain valuable insight into the medical profession. Also to Finn who was selected by Bristol City Rowing Club to compete at a national event for the team in November. 

And it’s not just the students who have been outdoing themselves this term. Charnwood staff showed new (often surprising) sides of their personalities through a hard fought and ruthless game of live action Cluedo through the middle two weeks of the term. Shout out to our amazing students who embraced the game with such incredible enthusiasm that they were often the ones masterminding campaigns! After a week where it felt like we had a runaway winner, who had worked out the target on her back and seemed untouchable, a laptop in a first aid box changed the game. With inherited wins, this meant that the title passed between four different players on the final day. Huge congratulations to the delightfully despicable Mr Slane who swept in to claim the title on the last day. Until next time!

A student excellence spotlight for Amani Munizel, who volunteers with DJ Nytro at BCFm every Thursday from 4 till 6. Amani says “I started as I thought it would look good in my portfolio for a BBC journalism apprenticeship. I co-host with the DJ, control the music, interview guests live on air, as well as  taking over any slots he isn't available. The station has around 5000  listeners a day so small artists and jobs are presented for the locals. This opportunity helps me build up my confidence and understanding of broadcasting and news as well, as my connections for the future.” We’re so proud of you and obsessed with the show. Great stuff Amani. 

Congratulations also go to our 13 Year 13 students who submitted their university applications by the UCAS early admissions date this term, with hopes of studying at Oxford or Cambridge University, and/or pursuing pathways in medicine, veterinary or dentistry. We are now seeing a flurry of further applications coming through for the remainder of our university applicants from Year 13. A reminder that students should remain connected with their tutors to develop their personal statements and that Ms Beaver and Mx Sciubba are running regular lunchtime drop-ins for anyone who would value a bit of extra support. 

This term we also saw the launch of our enrichment programme with a HUGE range of opportunities open for students to pursue this year, including a large number of student-run enrichment courses. Really exciting to see our Respect Project going from strength to strength, a budding new cohort of First Aiders and a large number of students engaging with mentoring roles in connection with the lower school. Particularly excited to have our first ever cohort of chess club underway, with a massive number of students signing up for this.

We have had an exciting month of Black History Month celebration, which has been woven through classroom learning. Teachers have been working hard to review the taught curriculum for this month, embedding a wide range of learning around black history which students have experienced in all courses and all year groups. A huge thank you to everyone who turned out for our African Caribbean Celebration Evening at the end of term - an evening of great music, great food and the excellence of our young people! In particular, we want to acknowledge those brilliant young people in our cohort who took part in the development of our P16 student voice film, opening up with great vulnerability and power about the youth black experience. We had a range of other brilliant celebrations through the month, including an author visit from playwright Sabrina Ali in Charnwood library, followed by a writing workshop for our budding P16 screenwriters and playwrights. Events culminated with a lunchtime party, quiz and feast, followed by a brilliantly engaging voice artistry workshop with the inimitable iam13e. 

A huge thank you to the number of students who turned up on one or both cold October evenings to support our Open Events for prospective students. The events were a huge success and this was in no small part down to our Post 16 students who came to greet our visitors, guide them through the site and share their learning experiences. The NBP16 community is completely unique and it is our incredible students who make it this way; in fact, we had so much engagement from students that we ran out of ambassador t-shirts! Thanks too for those of you who brought fun and energy to the end of a wet and windy term through a fantastic Halloween party after hours. 

All that remains is to wish our students a well deserved half term break. We look forward to our Futures Launch with Y12 next term and would encourage students to make sure they are making full use of the Futures section of the hub HERE (student login required) to be ready for this. This break will be an important opportunity for our students to get some rest and take time for self care. We encourage them to have a look through the ideas and resources in our end of term Wellbeing Bulletin, which has been emailed to them and you can preview it HERE.