Welcome to Greenhead: Principal’s September 2019 newsletter

04 September 2019

A warm welcome to Greenhead College to all our new and returning students, and their parents and carers. I hope everyone has an excellent start to the autumn term.

The beginning of the academic year is always extremely busy and this online newsletter aims to highlight a few key events, opportunities and sources of information to look out for.

College information

Could I remind all students to check their emails on a daily basis to ensure they are up-to-date with key messages concerning life in College.  Students will find it useful to refer to their student planner which contains a wealth of information, including the term dates for the year.  There is also a parents’ information section on our website providing information on topics such as term dates, the College day, exams, financial matters, and progress monitoring. 

Enrichment

One of Greenhead College’s major strengths is the exciting range of extra-curricular activities available to students.  This is a reminder to all our new first year students that enrichment sampling week and enrolment starts this week, with activities commencing on Monday, 16 September.  I would encourage all students to sign up to as many enrichment activities as possible.  Not only are they fun and enjoyable to do but they will allow you to stand out from other candidates when applying for employment or to university in the future.

Heritage Open Day event

Greenhead College is proud to be hosting a free event on Thursday, 19 September at 5.00pm as part of Heritage Open Days, England’s largest festival of history and culture. Open to everyone, this event will encompass a presentation and workshop by 17-year-old Emily Brierley, National Youth Ambassador for the Mindfulness in Schools project, and second-year student at the College.

In this session Emily will be talking about her experience of the Manchester Arena terrorist attack, the ways in which she has changed her relationship with trauma and used mindfulness meditation to help her see the best in humanity after being exposed to the very worst. She will also explain how this life skill has helped to alleviate her own anxiety.

Additionally, Emily will be talking about people she has been able to help using the same tools that helped save her and how this work has led to her becoming the first National Youth Ambassador for MiSP (a national charity bringing mindfulness into education).  She will be giving a presentation on how mindfulness and meditation can benefit you directly by helping with physical issues as well as mental health.

Emily trained as a meditation teacher last year. Throughout this session you will also have the opportunity to be guided through some short meditations, so you can experience them for yourself. Emily will leave you with tips for moving forward and give you some tools that will hopefully help you in day-to-day life to tackle any problems you might be facing.

Parents’ information evening (first-year students)

We have an information evening for parents and carers of our new first year students on Tuesday, 24 September at 7.30pm.  The event will cover two main topics: firstly, how we fulfil students’ potential through high quality teaching and pastoral support and secondly, information about practical matters such as tutoring, enrichment and careers advice.  Please note that parking is limited on our main site.    

Latest examination results

2019 was another excellent year for A Level results: the overall pass rate was 99% (national average 97.5%), with 62.2% of grades at A*-B at A Level (national average 51.1%).  These were superb results, reflecting students’ high aspirations, hard work and commitment. Our former students will shortly be progressing to the next phase of their education and training, including degree courses at top-performing universities, higher-level apprenticeships and employment.  In particular, 33 students successfully progressed to Oxbridge universities, which is a staggering achievement. I would also like to thank parents and carers, and our magnificent staff for the steadfast support and guidance they gave our students.

Support available

Finally, could I emphasise to students and their parents and carers that support is always available.  Our staff, including teachers, personal tutors, the learning support and careers teams, College counsellors, and the senior team, are here to help with any matter of concern. Our doors are always open.   

Best wishes,

Simon Lett
Principal