The below letter was communicated to students, parents and carers on Monday 30 January 2023.

Dear Students, Parents & Carers,

Following the information that I provided last week, I would like to let you know the arrangements for Wednesday 1 February when some teachers will be taking industrial action (or are affected by industrial action taking place at schools where their own children attend). 

Any student with a Wednesday lesson will receive an email on Tuesday at 4.30pm confirming their arrangements. Copies will also be sent to parents and carers.

We will be unable to confirm arrangements in a few cases – these students will receive a further message on Wednesday morning just after 8.30am when we will know for sure which teachers are taking industrial action/are impacted by decisions at the schools their children attend. We will send this by text and email and we will also send a copy to parents/carers.

Please note that any sessions with CITC coaching staff will not be impacted by industrial action and will take place as normal.

Any student whose lesson does not take place will be awarded an attendance mark of X – not required to attend college for that lesson. Their attendance will not be impacted for that lesson. 

Students who normally have a full day of lessons may find that their morning or afternoon lesson is cancelled while the other goes ahead. They must still attend the lesson that is going ahead – failure to do so will be treated as an unauthorised absence. 

I would like to remind you that this is a national day of industrial action, in relation to a dispute with the Government about pay, which also includes other sectors. To be clear, this is not a dispute about the operation of our college.

I would ask all students to respect their teachers’ personal and professional choices in regards to this period of industrial action. 

Where lessons cannot take place, students will be directed to work independently. 

Some teachers may set specific work, others will expect students to choose how best to study on this day. 

If a student is not sure what to do during a cancelled lesson, revisiting previous lessons or assessments is always beneficial. Alternatively, students could use the time to research university courses, apprenticeships, work experience or volunteering opportunities (see the Friday Notes for the latest information).

College will be fully open to students who wish to come into study. The refectory, free college meals and all our usual pastoral support will be fully operational.

The next planned date for industrial action is Tuesday 28 February. I will be in touch again nearer the time to confirm arrangements for this date but I expect them to be very similar to those in place for this week.

If you have an urgent question or concern, please contact us by email to info@connell.ac.uk.

Connell Co-op College will be working in partnership with Manchester Cycling Academy to offer budding cyclists the chance to train and study. 

The cycling academy for aspirational bike riders aged 16-19 years is based on the Etihad Campus in East Manchester, less than four minutes away from the National Cycling Centre.  

Students will be able to study the three A Level equivalent BTEC Sports Coaching and Development, BTEC Sport and Exercise Science or a choice of A Levels/other BTEC qualifications.

Connell Co-op College is part of Co-op Academies Trust and is the number one sixth form college in Manchester for A Level and BTEC Level 3 Progress.

The college has strong links with Manchester City FC through its CITC Football Programme. Staff are used to accommodating elite athletes and boast some notable graduates including current Team GB Track Cycling star Sophie Capewell; Para-Cycling Olympic gold medallist, Sophie Thornhill; Manchester City and England Women’s goalkeeper, Ellie Roebuck and current Manchester City and England men’s star Phil Foden.

Emma Soper, Principal of Connell Co-op College, welcomed the announcement and said: “We are very much looking forward to working with Manchester Cycling Academy and welcoming future Olympians to Connell Co-op College.

“Adding cycling compliments our existing sports offer which includes the City in the Community Football Pathway and the Sport in the Community Pathway which is run in partnership with GLL. Manchester Cycling Academy students will also benefit from the partnership we have with our nearest neighbour – the Manchester Institute of Sport delivered by Nuffield Health.

“The programme will provide a unique opportunity for cycling students to benefit from high quality teaching, learning environments and great qualifications. When students complete the course they will stand out from the crowd and leave with a unique skill set.”

Stefan Hopewell, Director of Manchester Cycling Academy also welcomed the announcement and said: “Connell Co-op College is a perfect fit for Manchester Cycling Academy. It fits our vision of offering A levels and BTECs and the close proximity to world class cycling facilities will allow the riders to transfer between their academic studies and training sessions without interruption.

“Not only is it possible to transfer quickly from the college to the velodrome in minutes to facilitate cycling training sessions, the college has an excellent reputation for gaining academic results and for progression to higher education and training.

“Adding A Levels to our offer means that those riders who want to take the traditional education route can still join the cycling programme and continue with their academic studies, whilst offering the three A Level equivalent BTEC means that those who want to choose a more practical and vocational qualification can also do so.”

Places will be limited in 2023 and competition is expected to be fierce, so early application is encouraged. Apply now to be invited to an interview evening on Wednesday 25 January 2023. The deadline for applications is Tuesday 31 January 2023. 

Apply online now.

Congratulations to all of our students – we’re so proud of them! 

The last three years have been unprecedented in education and our students have had to overcome enormous challenges in order to succeed. Their resilience is an inspiration and we’re really impressed with their achievements. We wish them the very best for the future.

Our 2022 results:

• 99% pass rate
• 75% achieved at least one high grade (A*-B / Distinction)

We’re excitedly supporting our students as they make their final decisions about their destinations. 84% of them made a university application and around 5% of students plan to start an apprenticeship. 

I’d like to say a big thank you to our incredible staff who have supported our students so well in the most challenging of times. I would also like to thank our many partners – employers, universities and charities who have worked with us and our students to ensure that they have had access to the very best opportunities – without your support their success would not be possible.

We’ll be sharing some of our student success stories on our social media channels. Keep an eye on our Instagram and Twitter accounts for further updates and celebrations. 

Congratulations Connell Class of 2022! 

We’re delighted to have achieved the prestigious Quality in Careers Standard – the national quality award for careers education, information, advice and guidance (CEIAG) for  secondary schools and colleges.

Our CEIAG programme was described as ‘an example of outstanding practice’ and the ‘quality and breadth’ of our careers provision was recognised too.

Great feedback!

New for September 2022, we’re excited to be able to offer students studying BTEC Sport, Coaching & Development or BTEC Sport & Exercise Science access to our new Sport in the Community Pathway.

Students who register will be given a guaranteed interview and employment trial with GLL – one of Manchester’s biggest employers in the sport and leisure industry. 

Your employment with them can run throughout your time at Connell and beyond into university or full time employment. As a national company you will have the opportunity to work for them wherever you choose to go in the future too.

GLL is a not for profit charitable social enterprise committed to delivering a better quality of fitness and leisure, libraries and performing arts facilities for everyone. They manage over 258 facilities across the UK. Find out more.

In Manchester, this includes community and elite sporting venues such as the National Cycling Centre, National Squash Centre, Manchester Regional Arena, National Basketball Performance Centre; as well as local leisure centres, such as Belle Vue Leisure Centre, Manchester Aquatics Centre, East Manchester Leisure Centre, Moss Side Leisure Centre, and much more. Find a full list of Manchester venues.

They also organise and support the delivery of major sporting events such as the recent European Taekwondo Championships at Manchester Regional Arena and are proud to host national teams across their venues including Manchester Thunder Netball, Manchester Giants Basketball and Belle Vue Aces Speedway.

GLL are proud of their commitment in 2022 to be a real living wage employer. The hours you work will be flexible and up to you meaning you can work more during the holidays and quiet times and less or not at all when your college work is most demanding. As your employee, they will provide you with training and qualifications, enabling you to progress in the sports industry in the future.

Students on this pathway will also have access to opportunities delivered by our other key partners in the sport industry: City in the Community, Manchester City Football Club and Manchester Institute of Health and Performance.

We held our prize giving evening for the children and young people who took part in the 2022 Our Year Art, Poetry and Short Story Competition on Tuesday 29 March.

We received a huge variety of entries from children and young people aged 5-18, covering a number of key themes, including equality, wellbeing, play, family and friends, education and environment. We were blown away by the quality of the entries we received: some fantastic and interesting stories; deep and beautiful poems; and the artwork was beautiful and powerful. Narrowing down the entries and choosing the winners was a really tough job, taken on by a panel of experts, including published author Ellen Harrison (follow on Twitter and Instagram). 

The evening was a brilliant celebration of the creativity and passion of young people in Manchester. After some light refreshments, the ceremony opened with a welcome from Head of College, Emma Soper. Then Andrea Daubney, Manchester City Council’s Assistant Director of Education, introduced Our Year and what it is aiming to achieve in Manchester. Two Connell students, Katie and Hanan, spoke about their experiences during the Covid-19 pandemic and their vision for the 2022 Our Year project and beyond.

The winners and runners up were invited to the prize ceremony which was split by three age groups (Primary School, Key Stage 3 and Key Stages 4-5) and by the three categories (art, short stories and poetry). Thirty children and young people were awarded prizes. 

The first prizes were awarded to Benjamin Clark, Y2, Brookburn Community School; Sara Hassani, Y4, Pike Fold Primary School; Zuha Rafiq, Y4, Longsight Community Primary School; Noah Brown, Y10, Gabriella Taiwo, Y9, and Freddie Chauhan, Y7, Co-op Academy Manchester; Omar Naoum, Y9, Burnage Academy for Boys; Lauren Johnson, Y10, Co-op Academy North Manchester; and Muskan Ditta Afzal, Y12, Connell.

Freddie, a Year 7 student from Co-op Academy Manchester, said: “I was really pleased to win an award for my poem. I wrote it about feelings but I’m not sure where the inspiration to write it came from as English isn’t one of my favourite subjects. I think I will write more poems in the future.”

Muskan, a Year 12 student from Connell Co-op College, added: “I was pleasantly surprised to win. My drawing was inspired by discussions with my brother and based on the health of the earth’s environment. I think it has inspired me to be more creative in future – after my exams – to start doing sculpture.”

Some of the winners

Some of the pieces of art

Co-op Academy Manchester students

Burnage Academy for Boys students

Benjamin from Brookburn Primary receiving an MCFC shirt from Alex Williams MBE

The gallery wall

The gallery wall

Brother and sister winning together

All the attendees

Our partners – Co-op, Manchester Metropolitan University, MCFC City in the Community and Manchester City Council – donated some fantastic prizes. Some of the top prizes included a signed John Stones MCFC shirt, an afternoon tea at Hotel Football, an afternoon tea at Angel Square, a £25 restaurant voucher, Amazon vouchers, Arndale vouchers, footballs, books and stationery. 

The competition formed part of the year-long Manchester campaign, 2022 Our Year, being run by Manchester City Council. The campaign is providing a programme of activities, opportunities and experiences for children and young people to help them shape theirs and their city’s futures post-Covid.