Week 5 (30 September – 4 October 2024)

Saturday Sport

A key strand – linking our outstanding opportunities and traditional values

One of our key mantras in school is “be the best that you can be.” Part of that work is identifying these successes – as we do in this newsletter, for example. One such instances comes in our very successful Saturday morning sport programme – a tradition of the school for as long as any of us can remember!

Currently, so many of our students are currently developing their rugby skills, knowledge and tactics. We would like to thank the boys for their hard work and discipline at these early season events which are so much more than simply winning and losing. Indeed, they are great for strengthening what we call “soft skills”: team-building, leadership, resilience, and dealing with defeat the same way as one deals with success.

Attendance to School

Making sure students maximise their learning

The school’s average weekly attendance continues to be above the national average. Our Form Tutors, Pastoral Leaders, and dedicated Education Welfare and Attendance Manager continually drive the importance of being in school, on time every day, every week. Key messages are:

• Children learn from those around them. Parents/carers set the standards and expectations – please reinforce that good attendance and punctuality are skills for the future.
• Avoid absence from school wherever possible. Avoid GP and dental appointments during school hours. Absence means your child will miss out on academic studies and begin to feel that education is not a priority. This can have a negative life-long effect.
• There can be good reasons why children become reluctant to attend school. Take the time to listen to your child, share any concerns you or your child may have with school staff, and seek support at the very earliest opportunity.

Competitions Corner

Strengthening personal development

Throughout this year, we are planning to signpost a range of local, regional, national and international competitions. These challenges will be voluntary opportunities for students to build their academic and artistic profiles. Historically, we are not without success in these competitive spheres, so do look out for more information in this newsletter in the coming weeks. If you know of a competition that our students may be interested in, please do share with us through the usual channels.

Coming Up!

Dates for the diary, for the next two months

You can access the entire calendar via this link.

Progress & Partnership Day

Timeslots coming soon

Thank you to those parents/carers who indicated their preference for appointments on Progress & Partnership Day (PPD). As previously mentioned, we cannot guarantee to meet with you at your preferred time but we will do our best to accommodate your choice. A lot of work is going on behind the scenes to organise ten-minute appointments for nearly 1,000 students.

Please note that confirmation of your appointment will be sent at the end of next week via email to parents/carers as well as a card given to your son/ward. As a reminder, normal lessons will be suspended for all students on PPD – Friday 18 October. The original letter is available on this website for your reference.

Sleep

Building strong routines

Thank you to those parents/carers who have provided feedback on our drive to train students to both undergo a weekly digital detox and establish strong sleep routines. As a reminder, active, alert learners require nine hours of sleep each night during the school week. We know that many parents/carers are working hard behind the scenes to develop these crucially important routines with their children. Remember, it takes 30 days to establish a routine – that equates to six school weeks of practice. 

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Mobile Phones

A policy reminder

At Isleworth & Syon, mobile phones have been banned from our classrooms and playgrounds for over a decade. Simply, phones cannot be used, seen or heard anywhere on the school site. We would like to thank students and parents/carers for supporting these regulations. For clarity, the ban is important in several ways:

• Phones are a distraction from learning.
• Smartphone usage is an addiction with profound personal and social consequences.

The consequences stretch well beyond the classroom and into every segment of our lives. Its impact is most profound on the youngest addicts – our students – who we urge to have regular digital detoxes.

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Personal Safety

Keeping children safe

it is imperative that we regularly highlight the importance of personal safety both to and from school. This includes: 

• Cycling to school – use cycle lanes and always wear a cycle helmet. Bicycles can be stored securely in our cycle shed which is located adjacent to the school field. Do not use the Lime bicycles which are such a huge temptation as they are located near the Crown Court as well as Isleworth train station; these bicycles are for over-18s only. 
• Walking to school – use well-established routes.
• Catching the bus to school – due to traffic congestion, allow enough time at the start of the day. 
• Catching the train to school – British Transport Police regularly inform all local schools of issues related to platform safety (standing behind the yellow safety lines) as well as track trespassing and the danger at train crossings. Please watch this video and discuss these issues with your son/ward.
• Car drop-off – please do not park on the zig-zag yellow markings or the double-yellow lines opposite the school entry and exit gates, before and after school. Such behaviour really does endanger the personal safety of our students. 

Extra-Curricular Spotlight – Writing Club

A new weekly feature

Writing Club is a space for students to explore and experiment with writing. We often talk about reading for pleasure and this club is the equivalent for writing. We usually begin with a time of free writing and then introduce a prompt to write about. The aim is to simply write and not worry about form and presentation but focus on developing your writer voice.

This week’s session was led by one of our Year 11 students and his prompt for the group was, ‘What makes you the person you are?’ which resulted in a wide variety of responses. Here’s an extract below from one of the student’s writing journal. We encourage the students to share their writing with on another which has resulted in a wonderful feel of camaraderie and support. 

The club runs on Mondays 3.05 – 4.05pm and is open to all year groups. 

Feedback – Open Evening

Some brilliant comments from prospective parents/carers

Last week, we held our Open Evening for prospective parents/carers and students. Thank you to the students who gave their time to volunteer on the evening. You can read some feedback from the event below.

We still have two more Open Morning tours. We know that word of mouth is a powerful tool, so please do let any friends or family know if they may be interested in securing a place here for September 2025.

Pride of House

A new set of award winners

Each week, Form Tutors or Pastoral Staff nominate a student from each form for the Pride of House award. These are awarded for a number of reasons, but always reflect fantastic commitment to the school and the House. This week’s winners can be read by clicking a house badge below.

Success Stories – Daniel Caffoor

Celebrating a student who embodied our drive for outstanding opportunities

Daniel Caffoor (2017-2024)
Hounslow Town Primary School
Isleworth & Syon School
University of Bath

Daniel was inspired to come to our school from Hounslow Town by the amazing opportunities in performing arts, in particular, music. When he joined, Daniel embodied what it is to be an Isleworthian by immediately buying into our culture of an all-round balance of academic success fused with extensive enrichment; Daniel reports how this really aided his induction. He remembers playing in the band pit under the stage for the Winter Concerts and Summer Arts Festivals. 

Out of school, he was an avid reader, mainly of fiction—using physical books as well as the school’s electronic library of e-books. Like many of his peers, one of his educational highlights was the amazing history trip to the World War I battlefields in Belgium. Staff remember Daniel as being wholly conscientious learner. As a big reader of fiction, his favourite books were the ‘Divergent’ trilogy as well as the ‘Chaos Walking’ series.

Following a deep passion for STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), Daniel chose a degree in chemical engineering at the University of Bath. Daniel told us that he is profoundly thankful for the “care and support from my teachers, a chance to be part of a bigger community, to take part in things that I haven’t done before, it was all incredible.”

Safeguarding and Personal Development

Equipping students to make good decisions

It is vitally important that parents/carers as well as teachers always tune in and report back on local and national issues which evolve from family discussions. These “live” youth issues help inform our innovative PSHE education programme, which aims to equip students with a toolkit of knowledge and skills to make the right decisions. Please report any contextual issues using the email address below.

If you have a concern about the safety or welfare of your child, please email the safeguarding team at safeguarding@isleworthsyon.org. A member of staff will be monitoring the account. If there is an emergency call 999 or, for non-urgent matters that require police attention, call 101.

News

Educational visits are in full swing, offering unique opportunities

Black History Month

Although October is the national month of celebration, we do believe that Black history should not be confined to one month alone. We know that, for too long, the UK’s shared values and complex past have not been consistently featured in children’s learning. We are changing that – strongly advocating for what we call ‘hidden heritage’. This means topics that may be perceived as uncomfortable but must be a) recognised and b) addressed – in order to give agency to our young people.

Over the next month, and throughout the year ahead, staff will share examples of history that are, both positive and hidden in plain sight. We look forward to a time when these examples will be an overt and consistent part of our inclusive and diverse curriculum.

The 2024 topic is “reclaiming narratives” – this has a clear focus on recognising and correcting the stories of Black history and culture. This is not about teaching the personal history of each individual in the classroom, but rather about linking the story of the diverse communities that make up our society. This will help form a unifying sense of Britishness to equip the next generation with a more comprehensive understanding of how modern Britain was made. Ultimately, we hope that this will support their aspirations and academic attainment.

The library team have created a fantastic suite of resources to support Black History Month, which you can find at this link.

Sky Studios Trip

We are fortunate to have technology company Sky almost on our doorstep – their Osterley campus is a short walk from the school. We have been working hard for years to establish a partnership with the company, to give students outstanding opportunities.

This week, Ms Stroude took her vocational IT group to Sky for a very special behind-the-scenes tour of the facility. The group had a brilliant experience seeing how the company works. They also had the unique opportunity to take part in a question and answer session with Sky Sports presenter Mike Wedderburn. He spoke to them about how he got into sports journalism as well as his career to date. He also gave them valuable advice about the skills they should develop for their future careers. We were very proud of our students for their participation and conduct.

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Tate Britain Trip

On Tuesday, our big group of Year 11 GCSE artists headed to London’s Tate Britain art gallery for a special trip. The aim was to capture material and inspiration to use in their coursework. Students loved their time in the gallery, and it gave them a great inspiration of varying styles and art movements. This could then be incorporated into their projects now they are back to school. Student feedback was very positive; when asked the more valuable element of the trip, one said, “I learned about the value of traditional art and how it holds a deeper meaning within.” Well done, everyone!

KS3-Ready Evening

We know that it is not just students that have to cope with the transition from primary school to secondary school. We know that this huge change has an impact on families as well. With this in mind, we organised a special parent/carer evening on Thursday.

The main aim of this Key Stage 3-Ready Evening was to help parents/carers understand how they can help children be ready for the challenges of Key Stage 3. We explained how students would become an Isleworthian during their time in school, particularly how we would focus on their development from boyhood to manhood. It was a successful evening – parents/carers can view the whole presentation.

Senior Maths Challenge

On Tuesday, 55 students in Years 10-13 took part in the Senior Maths Challenge, organised by the UK Maths Trust. This tricky challenge is mainly targeted at A level students, so we were thrilled to see 48 of our Sixth Form mathematicians taking part.

However, it can also be sat by younger students with high potential. So we were really pleased to see seven Year 11s taking part.

Students now await their results. They will hope to emulate the achievements of alumnus Mikaeel Shah, who left us in July after representing the UK at international level in maths competition. He had just begun an undergraduate degree at Trinity College, University of Cambridge, studying – of course – maths.

Theatre Director Talk

Finally this week – we were thrilled on Tuesday to welcome acclaimed theatre director Michael Oakley into school. Michael is a freelance director who has worked with the Old Vic, Royal Shakespeare Company and National Theatre, as well as working with East 15 Acting School, one of the most prestigious drama institutions in the country. He came in to talk to our five Year 13 A level drama students about the theatre industry, discussing tips for how to make it in theatre as well as the best way to approach auditions.

Students loved the session and found it very valuable as they consider their next steps. Several commented on how valuable it was to hear from someone with real-life experience in the industry; they particularly took to hear the suggestion that a theatre professional must not be afraid of rejection. Our thanks to Michael for coming in.