Week 26 (24-28 February 2025)

Welcome from the Co-Headteachers

routines, routines, routines

It has been a very busy week after the half-term break. Throughout House assemblies and Study Support sessions, teachers and students alike are working on embedding strong daily routines. It always amazes us as teachers how quickly students fall out of their school routines after a holiday break of only one week. Key issues and routines for us to remedy include punctuality and attendance as well as in-class strategies linked to how students can make rapid progress. The most effective in-class techniques include completing classwork, answering questions, asking questions, building on the responses of others and reading aloud with clarity and confidence. 

Parents / carers can increase the resourceful and resilience of their son / ward so that they are better prepared for school by:

• Using every opportunity to keep in contact with the school – contact our Pastoral Support Managers with any issues.
• Everyday, asking your son / ward about how they have positively contributed to school – for example, what’s been your favourite lesson today? Why is that?
• Trying to resist the temptation to do everything for your son / ward. Your child needs to learn to, both, organise their school bag as well as manage their time efficiently; they won’t do it if you get everything ready for them.
• Encouraging your child to get organised the evening before. This saves themselves (and you!) a lot of undue stress in the morning. Remind them to check their timetable for the following day, pack their school bag and lay out their uniform if necessary.
• Checking that your son / ward is keeping up with their PPA assignments.
• Having a calendar on display at home clearly marked with different equipment needed for different days (sports kit, music, projects etc.). Encourage the habit of looking at the schedule the night before and organising schoolbags there and then.
• Checking that, if your son / ward travels to school on public transport, your son / ward is punctual to school. There have been a lot of disruptions of late. Do you need to catch an earlier bus or train?

Simon Fisher and Jo Higginbottom

This week’s Quote of the Week is:
“Character isn’t something you were born with and can’t change, like your fingerprints. It’s something you weren’t born with and must take responsibility for forming.” – Jim Rohn

March Exams (Years 11 and 13)

In case you missed it before half-term, we have published examination timetables for the Pre-Public Examinations (PPEs), taking place for Years 11 and 13 from Monday 4 – Friday 8 March. These important examinations are the last way that students sitting public examinations this summer can get a sense of their progress, including areas where they are strong and topics where they need further improvement. Please do encourage students to think hard and work hard by downloading one of our blank revision timetables and committing to regular revision. We recommend a “little and often” strategy as the best way to maximise progress.

Students have also received Individual Candidate Timetables, detailing their seat number and venue, this week. As a reminder, you can access the Year 11 timetable and the Year 13 timetable.

Our school community

Refugees Reflect on The Russian-Ukrainian War

After the three-year anniversary of war between Russia and the Ukraine, this week we’ve taken time to reflect on the plight, UK experiences and aspirations of our Ukrainian, Russian, Lithuanian and Moldovan students. We are an amazingly diverse, tolerant and welcoming school. 54 students have joined our school from these countries since 2022 and, this academic year, it’s heart-warming that 24 remain with us. Political refugees and asylum seekers bring new ideas and vital skills to our school, our city and our country. Over the next few weeks we will be reporting on a number of individual case studies. Suffice to say, the vast majority of our Ukrainian and Russian children with us at school are incredibly joyful with the opportunities which they receive; for example, our Ukrainian students enjoy learning and make deep connections to historical and literary references from both Central and Eastern Europe. These same students report that, while in the UK, the most difficult challenge is being able to navigate through the complexities and mysteries of the English language – not being able to communicate their ideas effectively. We look forward to sharing more of these amazing stories.

Coming Up!

Dates for the diary from now until the end of term

You can access the entire calendar via this link.

External Partnerships – Rugby

Working with Feltham Falcons

Among a multitude of successful external sporting partnerships, one of our newest is the Feltham Falcons which is a rugby league club. With a team of specialist rugby coaches the Eagles work with largely Year 10-11 students; please see their flyer.

Ramadan

A period of fasting, prayer, and reflection

In a few days, Muslims around the world embark on a spiritual journey marked by fasting, prayer, and reflection. Ramadan is a time that brings communities together, fosters personal growth, and strengthens bonds. We are aware that many of our Muslim students and staff will, as usual, be observing Ramadan. The advice for schools from The Muslim Council of Britain is that “in general, Muslims are encouraged not to use Ramadan as an opportunity to avoid aspects of normal life but rather to cope with normal life under a different set of guidelines and conditions”.

Therefore, it is the expectation that students will follow the normal school curriculum during Ramadan. Whilst the challenge and discipline of fasting is to continue with normal everyday life, our staff will be aware of the commitment that students make to their faith.

Given the above – PE staff will plan lessons with the awareness that students will need to avoid excessive exertion. However, students are still required to take part in these PE lessons and, therefore, should always have their PE/games kit. Where and when appropriate, students can continue to opt in to any of our extensive enrichment activities.

More broadly, simple acts of awareness, such as recognising the significance of the month and the potential need for flexible schedules or adaptive teaching, can significantly enhance the experience for fasting Muslims. Crucially, staff will also, as always, praise students and colleagues who are clearly making a special effort regarding their reflective attitudes and behaviour. This is a period of solidarity.

During Ramadan, we are trialling a chance for FSM students to pick up their food after 3.05pm (if they have not done so already), in the canteen (this will be as usual two items: a baguette or pastry and either a cookie, fruit or water). Obviously, at this time of day it will be a limited menu. We will be reviewing this and look forward to any feedback.

We wish our Muslim students and staff the best of luck in their daily sacrifices during the period of Ramadan.

House Point Champions

Another 13 students reach Diamond award

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, we are delighted to announce a second student has reached Prestige status – the highest possible award. A huge well done to Zakariya Awan (7Tu), who has passed the 350-point threshold to earn this prize. Congratulations to him.

Meanwhile, several 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!

Work experience

Gaining skills for the future

We continue to drive our annual campaign to identify work experience placements; this strategy supports students in Year 10 and 12. We aim to find a range of work placements across different employment sectors, in particular, aiming for a five-day work placement in July 2025. Finding a work placement became increasingly difficult after the COVID pandemic; given this, we know that the best type of networking is word-of-mouth, hence, should any parents / carers know of any opportunities for one-day or five-day work placement opportunities then please contact the school.

Given that talent is everywhere but opportunities are not, we prefer work placements for two young people, the second spot being for a student who is on free school meals. Be aware that the Year 10 work experience “own find” deadline has been extended to Wednesday 26th March 2025. This is to facilitate students hearing back from external opportunities.

Safeguarding and Personal Development

Pyramid of hate

In the same week in which there has been, rightly, huge publicity on the Ukraine – Russia conflict we have again been highlighting to students about the pyramid of hate. The pyramid provides students with an opportunity to examine the escalating nature of hate and to consider the difficulty of stopping the progression once it begins. In particular, important questions for students to consider include:

• What are some of the factors that make it more likely that hate will escalate?
• Once the actions of a person involved in a bias incident begin to escalate, do you think it’s difficult to stop? Why or why not?
• Finally, how difficult is it for students to speak-out when their friends display prejudice? How can we kick-start more young people to call-out prejudice among their peers?

National Self-Injury Awareness Day

National Self-Injury Awareness Day (SIAD) on March 1st is an opportunity for raising awareness and reducing the stigma surrounding self-harm. As parents / carers, it’s essential to create an open, non-judgmental space for your son / ward to discuss their feelings. Understand that self-injury is often a coping mechanism for emotional pain, not a cry for attention. Educate yourself on the signs of self-harm and seek professional help if needed, including by contacting the school. Encourage healthy coping strategies, such as sports / exercise or creative activities, and remind your son / ward that they are not alone. SIAD is an opportunity to foster understanding, support, and promote mental health and well-being for all. For more information, visit harmless.org.uk.

News

The latest stories from across the school

Jack Petchey Speak Out

Year 10 student Sam Gilmour took advantage of a fantastic opportunity on Tuesday as he competed in the regional final of the Jack Petchey Speak Out competition, held at the Green School for Girls.

We began the Jack Petchey programme in school last term, as some Year 10 high-potential learners had a fascinating workshop with a trained facilitator. The aim was to teach and train basic public speaking skills.

Sam did a fantastic job with his discussion on “Earth: Our Home” where he spoke on the importance of our planet. He was very highly praised for his performance by the judges and fellow attendees alike – well done, Sam!

Year 9 Parent / Carers Evening

Last night, we were pleased to invite Year 9 families into school for their Parents/Carers Evening, which gave them the chance to meet with students’ subject teachers. These ten-minute appointments led to fruitful discussions on what students are doing well and how they can do even better – all with the aim of maximising student progress ahead of the jump to Key Stage 4 in September.