17th July 2023
Year 12 Bulletin
Morning all,
Well done for being so focused last week; I was really pleased with how many of you signed up to UCAS so quickly but there are still a few people that need to get signed up. Now we need to make sure you go into the summer break up to date with all work and knowing what you can do to ensure your application is the strongest it can be. The summer opportunities have slowed down but there are lots of other things you can do to support your application.
There’s a fantastic opportunity with the organisation tutor2u who are offering a new Free Online Course for all Sixth Form students. The course includes a mix of videos, engaging activities and resource downloads and covers:
- An overview of the options for students beyond their time in sixth form
- Finding out more – suggested research links
- Advice on how to make strong applications to higher education institutions
- How to complete an effective personal statement
- Specialist higher education applications (including Oxbridge, medicine etc)
- All about apprenticeships
- Gap years
- Student finances – a practical guide
Use the link here to register: Studentshttps://ondemand.tutor2u.net/students/beyond-sixth-form-skills-booster
Checking through your UCAS applications so far, there are a few things you need to check and make sure you have completed:
- add your GCSE subjects and the grades you achieved to the Education section - the date for those is August 2022. You also need to add your Intermediate WBQ from GCSE (not the Advanced WBQ) and add the grade you achieved.
- For Finance most of you should put 02 UK, Chl, IoM or EU student finance services unless you are an international student. Check with me if you’re unsure.
- In the contact and residency section make sure you say yes to a nominated access so that either myself or a parent can speak on your behalf if necessary. See the screenshot below.
Lots of you have been asking about choices and predicted grades. In terms of choices you need to be realistic about the entry requirements. Applying for courses which you are not predicted to meet the entry requirements for will simply mean you do not get offers. We always advise you to choose one aspirational course (grades needed are a little higher than you are predicted), three solid courses (entry requirements are what you are predicted to achieve) and one safe course (grades needed are a little lower than you are predicted). Any issues please talk to your Learning Coach and subject teachers or come into the office and have a chat.
There is a general site for exploring Universities’ Open Days, which you can use to find dates for the universities you are interested in: https://www.opendays.com/
If you would prefer to get a taste of specific subjects at universities, whether through in-person or virtual events, have a look at Unitasterdays for an amazing array of opportunities: unitasterdays.com
For those of you interested in University League tables or Rankings, use The Complete Uni Guide.
Weekly
‘Ted Talk’: Optical illusions trick the brain
BBC Ideas: The woman whose paintings changed science
Opportunities/Events
NHS Wales have developed a brand new PageTiger resource that is focussed on Learning Disability Nursing in Wales. The resource aims to broaden students’ knowledge about learning disability nursing in Wales and ultimately encourage them to consider this as a potential career pathway. The resource can be accessed below: English: Portrait LDN - LDN Scrolling Portrait (pagetiger.com) They would appreciate any of you that might be interested in nursing or healthcare using the resource and then providing feedback by answering the following questionnaire - it should only take 5 minutes: Bilingual Feedback Form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe5jHm083vNdvJ2Ikvu8rbTprFqF6LkZZV_uob0JF8kYG8TsQ/viewform?usp=sf_link |
NEST STEM scholarships UKNEST promotes engineering, science and technology on behalf of the Naval sector and is committed to supporting and inspiring young people, students and early career professionals. They are offering 12 scholarships to students studying STEM subjects at UK universities and colleges during the academic year 2023/24. The scholarship scheme offers a range of benefits including:
Applications can be made via this link. The closing date for applications is 22nd September 2023. For information about the wide range of scholarships and bursaries available at UWE Bristol for new students and applicants, please see this link. |
The Entrepreneurship Lab at King's Cambridge have a new essay competition. The purpose of the competition is to encourage Sixth Form students to pursue entrepreneurial aspirations and understand better how to launch an enterprise. They are particularly keen to foster an entrepreneurial spirit among students who might not traditionally consider entering the businessworld. The competition is organised and run by the Entrepreneurship Lab (E-Lab) at King’s College, University of Cambridge. You should choose between one of the three essay questions, below, exploring the importance of entrepreneurism and the challenges that business-people face. This essay should be written independently but some input from teaching staff is advised. Students from all backgrounds and regardless of subjects studied are welcome to enter the competition. A winner, and two runners up, will be selected by an expert panel of judges: Deborah Meaden (Business Leader and TV Dragon), Lord Mervyn King (former Governor of the Bank of England), and Gillian Tett (FT Columnist and Editor-at-Large of the Financial Times USA). Winners will be invited to a prize-giving ceremony, to be held in King’s College, Cambridge, in late 2023/early 2024. The winner will share a £1,000 cash prize, to be split equally between them and their school, and two runners-up prizes of £500, again shared equally between them and their school. Essay Questions and Format Select one of the three questions below, and write a 1,000 word essay: Q1: Many businesses advertise themselves as ethical and sell environmentally friendly or ethically sourced goods. However, they often do this at a premium price. To some extent this is due to the higher price of their inputs but often they also enjoy a higher profit. To what extent is it ethical for a business to have excess profits from selling ethical goods? Q2: Why is learning from failure sometimes more effective than learning from success? Build upon examples of entrepreneurs (in the broad sense of the term) who were able to learn from failure. Q3: Generative AI technology, built upon Large Language Models, such as ChatGPT has allowed entrepreneurs to operate more efficiently. Discuss the impact of this technology for entrepreneurs and provide examples of how it is being used. Any format of essay is permitted, this can range from a more academic article to a blog article to a journalistic business type article. If footnotes are used, they will count towards the word limit. External references should be sourced in a bibliography at the end of the article, which will not count towards the word limit. The deadline for entries is 9pm on the 26th of September. |
Careers Wales have a list of available Summer jobs for anyone who’s looking; https://careerswales.gov.wales/plan-your-career/features/summer-seasonal-jobs/summer-seasonal-jobs-wales-and-uk |
Gresham College has a series of lectures by different Professors; This month, This month, Alan Turing: Pioneer of Mathematical Biology by Professor Sarah Hart, will highlight Turing's ground-breaking work in biology. Professor Ronald Hutton will question How Pagan Was Medieval Britain? Through Connecting the Dots: Milestones in Graph Theory, Professor Robin Wilson will examine the development of graph theory in the 20th century. Professor Joanna Bourke will complete her series on A Cultural History of Disease with a lecture on Sickle Cell Disease: A Cultural History, which will explore the importance of racial politics in understanding this disease. There will also be a celebration of her ground-breaking academic work. Rory Stewart OBE will deliver The Annual Sir Thomas Gresham Lecture 2023 in his exploration of Populism, Aristotle and Hope to suggest ways of re-energising the centre ground of politics.For other lectures which are at undergraduate level use the link here. |
Universities
Cardiff University has a lot to offer; check out their range of subjects here: https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/subjects |
The University of Law is not just about law. Their undergraduate courses in law, business, criminology, policing, psychology and computer science have been specially designed to give students an exciting, practical and academic experience, teaching students real-world skills so they can achieve their career ambitions. They have campuses in 6 locations including London, Birmingham, Bristol, Nottingham, Manchester and Leeds, as well as an online campus (courses vary depending on location). They have Open Days coming up; book here. |
Swansea University has a series of Head Start webinars focused on Student Life. Have a look at the programme here. |
Cardiff Met have a series of Open Days and Campus tours available in the Autumn: |
Support
For those of you who may feel you need support, as always we are always available to help. If you feel you need more support there are some useful support sites and links listed here:
- Young Minds
- Young Minds - muslim mental health campaign
- Young British Muslims talk Mental Health
- Mental Health Wales
- Mind
- TogetherAll
- Papyrus
There are also some useful techniques here for those experiencing feelings of anxiety:
- Breathing techniques to calm anxiety Visit now
- Yoga for Anxiety Visit now
Remember it is important that you keep an eye on your emails and our Twitter feed (@stcyres6th). I send out links and tweets regularly so there is a lot of information available, you just need to access it and let me know if there are any problems with you doing that.
As always, if there are any issues get in touch; we’re here to support you.
Take care,
Ms Jones