Richard Taunton Sixth Form College

Canteen prices are extortionate. £3 for a thin and small panini and a bottle of Pepsis is £2.10 insane. £4 bursary money for people that need it won’t get you much food at all. If your in college all day you could probably get a cookie and a coke that’s it. Not helpful at all.

This is an amazing college. I am a second year studying A level biology, chemistry and maths. I suffer from a lot of mental health issues and I’m (probably) on the autism spectrum- all of the staff have been incredibly supportive from day one. Generally speaking the students are pretty chill (you always get a few jerks no matter where you go) and as the college is very small, the teachers are able to take the time to get to know you and learn how best to teach you. The quality of teaching is outstanding and has continued to be so throughout the pandemic. Speaking of the pandemic, the emotional support available continued to take place over the phone during the lockdowns. I have never felt safe in school before. Never. But here? Here I feel safe for the first time in my life. I know that if something happened, I could go to any member of staff and they would help me. I have had to do so a few times. They have an extremely low tolerance for bullying and discrimination. I am non-binary and they didn’t hesitate to get my name changed on the system when asked and all of my teachers started using my preferred name and pronouns without hesitation - they even asked me to tell them if there were any words or phrases that made me uncomfortable as a result of my gender identity. I love this college and all the people in it.