Wrenn School sixth form: building bright futures

The transition from school to your adult life can be daunting, but with the support of a good school behind you, teenagers can and do achieve so much.

After one of the most difficult period’s in education in generations, Wrenn School in Wellinborough, Northants, decided to revisit some of last year’s school leavers, and hear in their own words about how life is panning out for them.

Ellie Butterworth:

“Since leaving school I have been enrolled onto a healthcare assistant apprenticeship which is 18 months long. I am then hoping to travel between different wards and get a taste for where I would like to specialise.

“After this, I will be enrolling onto a nursing degree apprenticeship and hopefully nurse for a few years and eventually enrol onto the 18 month midwifery course that is available for all nurses.

“My long term goal is to be a ward matron of a midwifery ward. I have a long journey ahead of me but I cannot thank anyone more than Mrs Bird my health and social teacher in year 12 as well as Mrs white and Mrs Fusco.

“I wouldn’t be on this journey without their supportive influence and lessons. It’s such a shame we couldn’t be in school more but a huge thank you to the school for pushing me to do something different and not go to uni but do an apprenticeship instead.

Maureen Woller:

“I took Biology, Chemistry, Religious education and EPQ for A Levels. I’m currently at Aston University studying Biomedical Science (BSc).

“My path to university was not the most straightforward, however, I appreciate the journey I had to go on as it allowed me to push myself and build my resilience.

“Despite the various lockdowns during my time at Wrenn sixth form, I believe the constant support from subject teachers and sixth form staff both inside and outside the classroom allowed me to remain motivated and determined to attain the best possible grades, which I knew I was more than capable of achieving.”

Courtney Parker

“I have chosen to take a gap year to ensure that my journey to university is as comfortable as it can be, which is why I will be working full time and saving the money I earn to put towards my savings for university.

“As well as that, I’m taking the time to relax and enjoy travelling to different places around the UK. Once I have taken the time to explore my surroundings and prepared myself for university, I will begin studying media and communications at Loughborough University in 2022.

“Wrenn sixth form helped me in so many ways, an example being that Wrenn helped ensure that the subjects that I picked for my A-levels were the perfect fit for me, going above and beyond making sure that I was able to study the subject I loved even though I had clashed with my other subject choice.

“Wrenn sixth form also allowed me to become more confident in myself through my role as a prefect and head girl; it gave me and all the students at sixth form the opportunity to voice our opinions and ideas for what we wanted to experience at sixth form, such as after school activities, charity events, what help we needed for our studies and so much more.”

Danielle Ward

“Most of my sixth form experience occurred during the pandemic, and a large part of it throughout lockdown where I had to quickly adapt into an independent learner practically overnight. This is was such a huge obstacle, transitioning from a year eleven that had a learning regime enforced by the teachers around me every day into a sixth former whose learning was placed within their own hands and accountability.

“Luckily, at Wrenn I felt supported by all my subject teachers, who were absolutely wonderful, and I will miss so much, as well as my form tutors and head of year, where my worries (academic and personal) were listened to and I felt guided within a time that was so uncertain, especially as a student.

“Wrenn always made sure that if we had any queries or concerns about anything that there was somebody we could talk to, and during the period where we were not sure of how our assessments were taking place, all my teachers supported me and my learning in a manner that helped me the most.

“Obtaining such grades is a massive achievement for anybody, whether during Covid or not, and coming out of such a bizarre two years that I worked immensely and continually throughout feels like an amazing accomplishment that I am over the moon about – results day didn’t even feel real!

“Now after leaving Wrenn Sixth form, I have decided to go to De Montfort University to study English Literature with the hopes to attain my degree and then become a secondary English teacher, inspiring and guiding other students the way my teachers inspired me.”

Natalia Cyran

“Currently I hold the position as a Quality Auditor at a food company called Billington Foods. My role involves auditing the cleanliness of the place of work, ensuring protocol is followed, inspecting the quality of the food itself and a lot more.

“I managed to get the position as soon as I left my education at Wrenn sixth form with a Distinction* in Business, A* in Art and an A in Photography.

“During my time at sixth form I knew that the only thing I could do to improve my future was to achieve high grades in hopes of moving up in life. I had some personal struggles going on at the time, which the staff at sixth form truly helped me with.

“The two years were a journey with many ups and downs, however it is a secret to none that to get high grades you need to revise for the subjects you need to revise for or to accumulate coursework, constantly finding different ways to improve yourself and your work to get high grades."

Victoria Smart

“During my time at Wrenn I really struggled to decide where I wanted to go and was unsure as to whether university was the best choice for me.

“I was given a lot of support and guidance,trying to work out where to go and have decided a gap year would be best for me to give myself more time to decide what I want to do before jumping straight into something I'm unsure about.

“During my gap year I'm going to be looking at apprenticeships and also possibly considering university courses but will be working a full time job in the meantime.

“Wrenn really helped me to get good results by pushing me to try my best but also knowing my limits. There was always a really friendly atmosphere and the staff really look after you.

“Your wellbeing always comes first. Sixth form is a stressful time and especially with Coronavirus. Mrs Mayes was always a phone call away and regularly checked up on us throughout lockdowns and when we were back in school.”

Hannah Jones, assistant principal, said: “Each of these students is a credit to the school and their families.

“Anyone looking to choose a sixth form in the area would be welcome to visit the website or arrange an in person visit to meet our team.”

Find out more at https://www.wrennschool.org.uk/