“Some birds are not meant to be caged, that’s all. Their feathers are too bright, their songs too sweet and wild. So you let them go, or when you open the cage to feed them they somehow fly out past you. And the part of you that knows it was wrong to imprison them in the first place rejoices, but still, the place where you live is that much more drab and empty for their departure.”
Ellis Boyd ‘Red’ Redding, the Shawshank Redemption
Following GCSE results day, once the dust settles, it starts to emerge, with certainty, which students will be staying with us for A Level.
This year, we had the largest Year 11 cohort we ever have at the College. They were made up of three distinct groups:
Those students who had been with us from the start of GCSE in Year 10, or perhaps even Year 9.
A growing number of students who transferred to the College at the beginning of their Year 11, concerned that they were not on track to perform well at the end of the course.
A number of students who had joined in order to retake their GCSE exams in the hope that they could improve on the grades which they had in place.
Within two of these three sets of students, a great deal of work goes into ‘fixing’, for want of a better word, those students. This could relate to their confidence levels, to their approach towards learning, to their ability to actually get into College and learn – broadly, to their whole perspective in connection with their education.
For many students who first set foot into the College, that has been broken. Perhaps not entirely, but something certainly is not right in terms of the way it is, at that point, working.
It has often been said of the College that it is similar to a car garage: work is undertaken to help get those who come here ‘back on the road’, with a clear destination in mind and the right means to get there. The guidance, care and nurturing environment which the College provides, generally speaking, leads to success in this mission.
With this in mind, we always have a number of students who depart in Year 11, to all intents and purposes, fixed.
They head off to excellent sixth form provisions with tremendous results, ready to pursue their ambitions vigorously, with a real sense of purpose. This feeling is always somewhat bittersweet for me, and I’m reminded of the words of Red in the Shawshank Redemption at the start of this article, in reference to his friend Andy. (though, of course, I’d never compare the College to a prison – one visit here would prove that we are anything but!)
Whilst many do depart for pastures new, it always heartens me that their abiding memory of the College is an overwhelmingly positive one. To give one example, I received an email from a parent a couple of weeks ago:
“I would like to say a massive thank you for supporting my daughter for over 2 years!
She started in April 2022 and at that time, she couldn’t go to school regularly at all. Your lenient approach made her feel unpressurised and gradually she started going to school more often.
It hurt me when I had to send an email to let you know that she was not coming, but your kind, sincere replies made me feel better. I am so grateful to every one of you!
I really hope the college will remain the same to welcome children with various issues. I know all of them want to go to school and feel angry and frustrated with themselves for not being able to do that.
2 years ago, I wasn’t sure if she would ever go back to school… Now she finished secondary school and took GCSE, that is a miracle!
She did really well in the exams and she will go to her new sixth form from tomorrow. She will take art, English and geography.
I’m sure she will miss the college a lot, but she is looking forward to her new start as well. I hope she will get on with her new school. Please wish her good luck!
Messages like these really make it clear to me just how much of a difference we make year on year here – it really does make all of the effort that goes into helping put students back together worth it.
This academic year, and invariably this happens, we tend to have a few students who return. They embark on their new journeys, but it doesn’t quite go to plan: the course they may have set their heart on might not have met their expectations, or may not actually be running; the setting may seem overwhelming to them or new rules or regulations upsettingly alien; the confidence which they had rebuilt and renewed here, may have deserted them.
We have gladly welcomed back a few students who fit that profile over the last week or so, and whether they wanted to be reacquainted with our more flexible approach or come back to the more supportive environment on offer here, then we are very happy that they feel that the right course of action is to return.
The College certainly feels less ‘drab and empty’ – not that it ever did in the first place!