Enriching the Curriculum 

At St. Cyres we firmly believe in education beyond the classroom; encouraging a mindset of lifelong learning is an important part of our ethos. A whole range of enrichment activities are provided to ensure that our students develop as active young people who are able to make a positive contribution to their local community and achieve their potential. Some of the community-based activities undertaken by our students include fundraising for charities, the school production, supporting local primary school children in mathematics, and literacy, numeracy and ‘buddying’ support for younger pupils in the school. Students also have the opportunity to gain qualifications in British Sign Language.

The weekly 6th Form Bulletin ensures pupils are aware of the latest opportunities available to them to help enrich their studies and support them in their aspirations. 

The Seren Network

At St Cyres we have developed an extremely effective working relationship with the Seren Network. For example, visiting lecturers from prestigious universities such as Oxford and Cambridge come to St Cyres and deliver lectures to our pupils and pupils from other schools. We regularly facilitate wider learning experiences for our Seren Network pupils, such as visits to Oxford and attending the Seren National Conference.

A regular Seren Bulletin is distributed to pupils with all the latest opportunities for our Seren pupils, such as work experience for aspiring Medics, Oxbridge Summer School applications and access to programmes such as The Social Mobility Foundations and The Brilliant Club. Access to these programmes has proved very successful in recent years with a number of pupils gaining places at Russell Group Universities, including Oxford and Cambridge, as well as successful applications for Medicine.  

Opportunities for all

All Year 12 pupils act as peer mentors to younger pupils. Students have the opportunity to take part in a variety of programmes which enhance their ability to compete for the most sought-after university courses. These include Medic Mentor, Rotary Young Leaders and ‘Youth Speaks’ programmes, Duke of Edinburgh Gold, Silver and Bronze awards, the Engineering Education Scheme Wales, Eversheds Unlocked programme for aspiring lawyers, and Shares for Schools. 

We have excellent links with many Higher Education Institutes, and regular visits by many departments to local universities further increase our students’ chances of success. Our local universities; Cardiff, Swansea; USW and Cardiff Met regularly visit school to deliver taster lectures and offer students support in their applications. 

We also provide bespoke careers advice and support for pupils wishing to pursue other pathways, providing them with details of opportunities such as those from Network 75, The Future Leaders Programme and the Aspire Guide. This is by no means an exhaustive list.