Welcome to our New Intake!

We are delighted to welcome our new Year 7 students who will be starting school this September! A first communication was posted home and emailed earlier this week. We cannot wait to meet you early next term at our face-to-face Transition Meeting.

This newsletter will be sent to you each Friday so that you can keep in touch with what is happening at school.

From the Headteacher

Our thoughts remain with the people of Ukraine at this desperately worrying time, whether they remain in the country, have been displaced, or have to watch the war from new homes around the world. Of course, we also think of our own students and their families from the Ukraine and Russia and hope that their families and friends remain safe.

Parents/carers might find these resources useful in discussing the situation in Ukraine with their children.

Euan Ferguson

COVID-19 Updates

Vaccinations (Students over 12 years old)

We hosted a third NHS vaccination session at school on 1 March and over 200 students were given the opportunity for a first or second jab. The NHS team were hugely impressed with the students and their mature and courteous manners.

Some students could not get vaccinated on the day due to having had Covid recently or a fairly recent first vaccination. The links below provide useful guidance on vaccines.

  • You can read about the vaccination programme for young people here.
  • For a first or second vaccination, or a booster, you can book online here.
  • Further local information about the vaccination programme can be found here.
NHS Covid Pass for International Travel (12-to-15-year-olds)

Information on Covid passes for young people can be found here.

National Citizenship Service (NCS)

The NCS programme is a ground-breaking student leadership programme. This summer we are making a significant investment in our Year 11 and Year 12 student leaders who wish to develop their leadership skills within our local community by enrolling on the NCS programme. It’s a ten-day project involving a residential experience with lots of social action work. Students who were on the programme last summer found it a very worthwhile experience and it can enhance student CVs.

Normally, the cost of this ten-day project is £1,200. However, students on Free School Meals (FSM) get this amazing enrichment experience for free. See Mr Fisher to sign up.

Students who are not FSM pay only £50 and can sign-up here.

Places are limited and the deadline is Wednesday 9 March 2022.

Pre-Public Examinations (PPEs)

Year 11 and 13 students will be sitting PPEs next week (7-11 March), while Year 10 will also sit a practice GCSE statistics examination in the same week. All students should be revising hard for these important internal tests.

Read the full timetable by clicking the image above. A personalised version is available for each student on the Parent Portal/Insight.

Useful revision materials can be found on the school website here.

Safeguarding Updates

This week’s theme is about malicious communications, which can be used as a form of bullying. Click here to understand more about online safety.

Young people across the country are increasingly using social media platforms such as Snapchat and WhatsApp to send malicious communications. This is an offence. We ask parents/carers to be aware of this and talk to their son/daughter/ward about the dangers of malicious communications.

Within school, we drive a range of measures to encourage outstanding behaviour and prevent all forms of bullying among students. If you have a concern about the safety or welfare of your or another child, please email the safeguarding team at safeguarding@isleworthsyon.org.

News

Introducing… our new Chef

We are delighted to welcome our new Executive Chef, Tré Thompson. He comes from a high-end restaurant background, having worked at Mark HIX, Gordon Ramsay, and Galvin at Windows. In his spare time, he coaches an U14 football team and plays non-league football. Tré says, “I have children of my own so I want to bring fresh restaurant-quality food into schools.”

Entry to Drama School

Mr McDonnell, our Performing Arts Curriculum Leader, hosted a workshop at the end of last half-term for Sixth Form students (past and present) from across the local authority, who aspire to gain a place at a drama school. With expert input from Alex Gatehouse, the students were given wide-ranging advice on how best to complete an application and prepare for a selection process.

Rugby Sevens

The school sevens teams have been back in action this term and have already enjoyed some successes. Teams entered the St. James’s School tournaments last week. The Year 7 team narrowly lost in the Vase Final but displayed real progress through the tournament; the Year 9 team went one better and won the Vase Final. The standout performance came from the Year 11 team who won the Cup (the main tournament), scoring 146 points and only conceding 22 points through the day.

Year 10 Football

Congratulations to the Year 10 team who beat Twyford CofE School last night in the Middlesex Cup semi-final, 6-2. They face Nower Hill School in the final later this term.

World Book Day

Thursday 3 March was World Book Day – the 25th year that the celebration has taken place. Ms Squires hosted some keen readers for a webinar with author Emma Carroll, while the House Team asked about the reading habits of the school community.

Reading is a key pillar of life in school, with all students encouraged to read for pleasure every single night – to boost their wellbeing and improve their literacy.

Word of the Week

The word of the week for next week is “ubiquitous“.