Week 24 (10-14 February 2025)

Active Revision

Preparing for the March exams (Years 11 and 13)

The March Pre-Public Examinations draw ever closer for Years 11 and 13. These crucial internal examinations run from Monday 7 – Friday 11 March. Students will sit papers in exam conditions for the ‘core’ subjects – English, maths and science. It is the last chance for students to get a sense of their strengths and weaknesses before they take their public exams in the summer.

As a reminder, students should be revising for two hours each school evening plus four hours a day on the weekend and during holiday periods. Remember that students should be practising ‘active revision’, which includes:

• knowledge organisers: revision clocks, revision quilts, Learn Its
• flash cards
• self-assessed past papers
• testing using online platforms

‘Passive revision’ like reading and highlighting text is proven to be ineffective. Students should be rote-learning facts and quotations as well as note-taking, annotation, and dual-coding (turning words to pictures, and pictures to words). These strategies are embedded into the school curriculum.

As a reminder, you can access the Year 11 timetable and the Year 13 timetable.

Community Anchoring

Driving important community projects

Schools play a key role in their communities, and we are no different. As well as providing a high-quality education for local young people, Isleworth & Syon is proud to drive projects within our community to support vulnerable groups – like the elderly and homeless. We call this ‘community anchoring’, led by our regular charity drives. We are currently planning to expand this work, led by the Brunel House Leader, Mr Jackson. Future ‘community anchoring’ will support storytelling and digital literacy across the generations. We know that this will help to challenge the negative perceptions which often follow young people.

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Coming Up!

Dates for the diary from now until the end of term

You can access the entire calendar via this link.

National Youth Theatre Audition

A chance to audition to be part of a prestigious institution

On Wednesday, parents/carers of Years 9-13 received an email invitation for students to audition for the National Youth Theatre (NYT) in school on Saturday 8 March. NYT is Britain’s most prestigious drama company that people from the age of 14-25 can join. It has been the launching pad for many British actors, ranging from Idris Elba to Daniel Craig. We have had significant success with almost 20 students becoming company members; they have all described the experience as “life-changing”.

Please note that this opportunity is available to all students in Years 9-13, not just performing arts students. Find out more information in this letter.

External Partnerships – Careers

Helping students see a path to success

In school, we work with many outside organisations. One of them is the Education Development Trust (EDT), which has a team of career advisors. These advisors help students in Years 10 to 12. Our advisor, Mrs Roberts, meets with students to talk about job opportunities in our local area, other parts of the country, and even abroad. This fits with our school mantra of “pathways, not corridors.” Mrs Roberts helps students understand how important it is to build both their school grades and other skills, called “soft skills.” In every meeting, students are given an action plan unique to them, so they can reach their career goals. Mrs Roberts works closely with Mr Adams, our Careers Leader, to help students see how school learning can lead to the workplace. We are proud to support EDT, helping students see that there are many routes to success – A levels, vocational courses, apprenticeships, and T levels.

Flu Catch-Ups

Another chance to get protected this winter

Last term, we hosted the local NHS team into school to conduct flu immunisations via nasal spray for students in Years 7-11 with consent. If your child missed the immunisation, the Hounslow NHS team are running sone more catch-up clinics. Find out more in this attachment. If you wish to attend, you must book a slot. For more information, please call 0208 432 7070.

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Club Spotlight – Science Club

Erupting volcanoes in the name of science!

House Point Champions

The first Prestige winner!

Rewards are an important feature of life at school. House points are a key way that we recognise students who have gone above and beyond in school – whether in the classroom, extra-curricular activities, student leadership or citizenship. Students can earn different awards as they attain more house points.

Today, one student has reached Prestige status – the highest possible award. A huge well done to Aryan Rajan (8Am), who has passed the 350-point threshold to earn this prize. Aryan was our first Diamond winner (250 points) and is now our first Prestige winner. Congratulations to him.

Meanwhile, 20 more students have received their Diamond award. Well done to:

Will your son/ward appear on this list next week? You can see his progress via INSIGHT.

Note: this list is accurate as of 7.00am today (Friday). If your child reached a threshold after 7.00am on Friday, they will appear in the next list.

Pride of House

The latest award winners

A huge well done to the 40 boys who have won this week’s Pride of House award. These have been nominated by form tutors and other pastoral staff for a brilliant contribution to school life. Check out the winners via the house badges below!

Careers Corner

A special talk from construction company, Kier

On Wednesday, it was great to host Sarah Hughes, Riyana Patel, and Rhys Nicholson from construction company, Kier Places. They came in to school to share their knowledge and insights regarding apprenticeships as part of National Apprenticeship Week. Speaking to a group of 30 Year 10 and 11 boys, they really challenged students to understand that construction companies are not just about the trades. In fact, there are a whole raft of other opportunities available within Kier Group and the broader construction industry. Students came away enlightened and enthused by the engaging talk.

Safeguarding and Personal Development

Helping students stay safe online

In today’s digital age, keeping children safe online is just as important as teaching them to look both ways before crossing the road. Digital literacy is the key to ensuring that safety. In PSHE lessons and assemblies, students have been learning more about staying safe online. As parents/carers, understanding the online world will help you guide your son/ward through it securely.

Start by educating yourself about popular apps, websites, and social media platforms your child uses. Discuss the importance of privacy, helping them create strong passwords and manage settings to protect personal information. Encourage open communication—let your child know that they can come to you with any online concerns. Set clear rules about screen time and online behaviour. Regularly check your child’s phone and ensure it is not kept in their bedroom overnight. Ensure they never meet up with someone they only know online. By staying informed and involved, you empower your child to navigate the digital world safely and responsibly. 

The school is closed from 3.05pm on Friday 14 February and reopens on Monday 24 February at 8.25am. During the holidays, 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.

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News

The latest stories from across the school

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Co-Heads Celebration Meeting

As this half-term came to an end, the Co-Headteachers held their latest Celebration Meeting with selected students. This half-termly feature celebrates students who have gone above and beyond in areas of school life. The latest theme was ‘reading’, with students selected because they achieved the greatest overall reading progress this year. Mr Fisher and Ms Higginbottom met with the students before break and treated them to something from the canteen as they talked about reading in school. Students had the chance to air their opinions and offer suggestions for how our whole school reading drive can be enhanced, as well as anything else they wanted to discuss regarding school life.

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Scholastic Book Fair

Throughout this week, we have hosted the Scholastic Book Fair in the school library. It was a great way for students to discover new stories and support the school at the same – if we reach last year’s target of £400 of sales, the school receives 40% in free books. We will find out soon if we hit the target. Thank you to everyone who supported, as well as the student librarians (some of whom are pictured in the first picture above) for their help during the week.

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South Bank University Trip

We are proud of the huge range of courses we offer in the Sixth Form. One popular option is A level design engineering, which offers students the chance to develop practical skills along with theoretical elements in the classroom. To that end, we were thrilled to give students the chance to put this ‘hands-on learning’ into action via an educational visit this week. The group of nine Year 12s headed to South Bank University in London for a special workshop.

Led by the university, students took part in a range of practical activities. This included a carbon fibre challenge as part of the University’s land speed cycle record check! Students also took part in a biomaterials workshop. As you can see from the photos above, students loved getting ‘stuck in’. They also learned about DT courses offered by the university. Afterwards, one student commented that, “Getting a hands-on approach to the manufacturing processes boosted my understand of the content we learned in school.”

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Intermediate Maths Challenge

Finally for this half-term – towards the end of last month, 103 students in Years 9-11 entered the Intermediate Maths Challenge. This is a nationwide competition, organised by the UK Maths Trust. Students took part in a multiple-choice assessment in exam conditions, solving maths problems and challenges.

Students could receive Bronze, Silver or Gold colour award, as well as a participation prize. The results were superb, with almost 50% of entrants receiving colours – up a huge 19% compared to last year’s result.

Four students have qualified for follow-on rounds. Ayman Shah has qualified for the MacLaurin Olympiad, the highest possible next round – a superb achievement. Meanwhile, three student qualified for the Intermediate Kangaroo stage; well done to Adam Arani (Year 9), Jayden Kwok and Aayan Memon (both Year 11). Well done to everyone who took part – we will keep you up to date with their progress through later rounds!

How do you think you would get on? Take a look at some past challenge papers and their solutions.