Week 27 (3-7 March 2025)

Welcome to our New Intake!

The next generation of Isleworthians

On Monday, offers were sent out to Year 6 families ahead of their start with us in Year 7 in September 2025.

To those families, welcome to the Isleworth & Syon community – we hope that you enjoy this weekly slice of life in school. We are very much looking forward to meeting you in the weeks ahead.

We also recommend reading some of the past issues for this online publication, so you can learn more about what’s been happening so far this year – as well as some of the things you can look forward to during your time as Isleworthians!

Exams – Good Luck

Years 11 and 13 take part in important internal assessments

Students in Years 11 and 13 embark on their Pre-Public Examinations all next week! These assessments are their final opportunity to sit papers in examination conditions before their public exams this summer. They will be a fantastic way for students to identify areas for improvement so they can maximise their progress. Good luck to the students – we hope that your revision pays off!

Sustainability

More about our theme of the week

For most people, the growing climate crisis is the defining issue of our lifetime. So, we aim to show leadership, urgency, and authority on an array of sustainability issues. For example, it is a regular topic of conversation in our student leadership groups and student voice sessions. For example, we are highly transparent with students about the sustainability of school construction projects, canteen food air miles, or our on-site green energy sources. Rest assured, we are persistent, ambitious and forward-thinking when it comes to developing social, economic and environmentally friendly, carbon-neutral practices. This includes “community anchoring” – working with students on projects across Hounslow. At Isleworth & Syon, we aim to make every student a leader that is ready for 21st-century Britain. 

Area Forum

A chance to connect to the local community

We always like to keep our school community aware of developments in the wider, local community. On Thursday 20 March, there will be a networking event at West Thames College. Topics for discussion usually include items on transport, local policing, parking enforcement and planning. However, this networking event will also host a presentation by Isleworth & Syon Sixth Form student leaders, talking about how the all too frequent negative narrative about young people is wholly unjustified and wrong. Please come along and enjoy the immense power of student voice. The event starts with a market-place gathering at 6.30pm; formal presentations start at 7.30pm.

Coming Up!

Dates for the diary from now until the end of term

You can access the entire calendar via this link.

Access to Free Sport

A borough initiative to help young people be active

After their call for opinions last autumn, Lampton Leisure have begun their ‘Free To Be Me’ programme. This is a 36-week initiative designed to inspire and engage young people aged 10-18 in the borough – through physical activity, mentorship, and life skills development. Options for multi-sport, gym, dance and athletics are available at various locations. Find more information via this link.

Ramadan

Supporting our Muslim students during Ramadan

We are acutely aware that many of our Muslim students 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.   

PE staff will, in planning lessons, be aware that students will need to avoid excessive exertion. However, students are still required to take part in 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 programmes.   

Crucially, staff will also, as always, praise students who are clearly making a special effort regarding their attitudes and behaviour. We wish our Muslim students the best of luck in their daily sacrifices during the period of Ramadan. 

Lime Bicycles

Some information you might not know

There has been a lot of local interest and dispute about the use of Lime bicycles in our community. This connects with our school ethos – paying huge attention to personal and community safety. Given this, we have reinforced in assemblies how it is illegal for students to use these bicycles, as you must be 18 years of age. It is also dangerous, as there is no requirement to wear a cycle helmet. Please note that it is also illegal to “kickstart” the bicycles into action without proper payment. We recommend this leaflet from the Metropolitan Police.

Extra-Curricular Timetable

Over 50 clubs and activities available

As a reminder, the full extra-curricular timetable for Spring Term 2 is available; you can view it on the ‘Extra-Curricular Activities’ page of this website. With over 50 opportunities to choose from, it is a fantastic way for students to support their learning and develop brand new passions to take into later life. The timetable gives full details of the staff organising the activity, so students can sign up. We really do encourage every student to “buy in” to our culture of outstanding opportunities.

To help students navigate the options, you can also see a breakdown by year group. View the full posters at this link, and a preview of some below.

Club Spotlight – Link PPA

Discover about our learning support provision!

At Isleworth & Syon School, our Special Educational Needs & Disabilities (SEND) department is called The Link. In addition to supporting in lessons and through extraction work, we also open our doors at break and lunchtime for students who need a place to chat with a member of the team, check PPA (homework), or meet with their friends with additional adults close at hand.

We also run an after-school PPA club in The Link for SEND pupils. Our team of Learning Support Assistants (LSAs) are on hand Monday to Thursday to offer extra support with accessing or completing PPA tasks. We are happy to help students from Year 7 to Year 11 and can turn our hands to any subject – if we cannot help, we can find someone who can! Currently, we are busy with Year 11s working hard with Mrs Swaine and Mrs Hurley preparing for their English and maths pre-public examinations next week. It is great to see the boys studying with such determination and commitment.

School Production – ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’

Read some audience comments from our February show

At the start of last month, we held our latest whole school production – an incredibly ambitious, student-led show adapting Roald Dahl’s ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’. This colourful delight was a fantastic example of how the arts are valued at Isleworth & Syon – with over 60 students taking part on stage, in the musicians pit, or as technical crew.

Feedback from our audience was overwhelmingly positive, so we wanted to share it with you too – as well as a slideshow with some promotional shots of the production.

House Point Champions

Another 12 students reach Diamond award

In school, students receive House Points for positive contributions to school life. When they reach certain thresholds, they receive certificates. Today, one more student has reached the Prestige threshold – meaning that they have earned a massive 300 house points! Well done to Mantej Gill (Year 7).

Another twelve students received Diamond awards (200 points) as listed below.

Congratulations to them! 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

For those who are not aware, our weekly Pride of House awards are a fantastic way to reward students for working hard and contributing to the life of the school. Each week, the pastoral staff nominate a student from each house! You can check out the full roster by clicking a house badge below.

Safeguarding and Personal Development

Some tools to help manage anxiety in young people

Anxiety and worry in secondary school age children is common, but parents/carers play a key role in helping them cope by building resilience and feelings of wellbeing. Students in Years 10-13 may be taking public examinations soon, which can trigger higher levels of anxiety. Fortunately, there is much that can be done:

• Start by fostering open communication—encourage your child to express their worries and listen without judgment.
• Validate their feelings by acknowledging their concerns, no matter how small they seem. 
• Establishing routines can provide a sense of security and predictability. Ensure your child gets enough sleep, nutritious meals, and regular physical activity, as these are vital for emotional well-being.
• Encourage relaxation techniques like deep breathing or mindfulness exercises to help them manage stress.
• Be mindful of your own behaviour—children often mirror adult reactions. Model calmness and resilience.
• Limit exposure to distressing news or overwhelming information.
• Limit and monitor access to social media. Finally, provide reassurance and focus on their strengths, reminding them that challenges are opportunities for growth and learning. 

_{Photo from Pexels.com by Suzy Hazelwood}

News

The latest stories from across the school

Elite Sports Pathways

In school, we are proud to support and celebrate our elite sports performers. On top of our regular excellent performance at county and regional level, we have a number of students who have reached ‘elite’ level. These include:

• Phoenix Offiah (pictured above) – recently signed to the Tottenham Hotspur football academy
• Freddie Summerhayes – international gymnastics competitor
• Tiam Abazari – represented the UK in international taekwon’do competition
• Dan Littlefair – competed at national level in hockey
• Nasir Niazi – represented his country in international football tournament.

In most cases, students performing at an elite level have to spend their spare time training as well as usually catching up on school work. These young people really exemplify one key element of our school values: ‘practice makes permanent’.

As many of these achievements take place outside of school, we expect there may be even more stories like this! If so, please do get in touch so that we can support sports events and preparation. Celebrating student success is a key strand at Isleworth & Syon, so we want to showcase these elite pathways as much as possible. They go hand in hand with our high-quality PE curriculum and the thriving extra-curricular programmes which has high participation rates across the school.

Ruth Cadbury MP Visits

This week, we were one of only a handful of local schools selected for a visit from local MP, Ruth Cadbury. She wanted to consult with students and families about the use and misuse of mobile phones in schools before voting on the Safer Phones Bill in Parliament. During this 90-minute session, we were delighted that so many students, parents/carers and staff articulated their strong yet diverse views to Ruth.   

As a reminder, mobile phone usage has been banned in our classrooms, corridors and playgrounds for over for a decade. Our mantra is simple – phones cannot be used, seen or heard. This ban is for a number of reasons. First, phones are a distraction from learning; second, smartphone usage is an addiction with profound consequences. We urge our students to have regular ‘digital detoxes’ where they step away from their devices.

Performing Shakespeare Regional Final

On Thursday, two students took part in the regional final for the English-Speaking Union’s Performing Shakespeare competition. Young people from local schools recited their favourite piece of Shakespeare for an assembled audience of parents/carers as well as the judging panel.

Our finalists were Roo Clark and Oussama Hsaini El Aissati, who progressed through the school final in the Autumn Term. They performed pieces from ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ and ‘Romeo and Juliet’ respectively, as well as an additional oracy component. Although both were understandably nervous, they did a superb job and were highly commended by the judges. This opportunity has helped to improve the boys’ confidence, which will absolutely have knock-on effects in the classroom as well.

Poetry by Heart School Final

One of our favourite extra-curricular opportunities is the national Poetry by Heart competition. Students are asked to learn a poem and then recite it for an audience. Two years ago, a Year 11 student called Blake Lawrence took part in the national final at Shakespeare’s Globe theatre in London. Now, he is our Head Student. We know that participation causes a marked increase in students’ confidence and written literacy.

This year’s school final took place on Wednesday, as representatives from Years 7-11 took part in front of an audience of their peers plus invited parents/carers. Students were assessed by a judging panel of staff on four areas: Performance, Voice, Understanding and Accuracy. Results will be announced in assemblies soon; stay tuned to this newsletter in the coming weeks to find out who has progressed to the regional final. Well done to everyone who took part – it takes such bravery and resilience to step up in front of your peers!

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Dead Poets Live Show and Workshop

On Thursday, we were delighted to welcome a travelling theatre company into school. They are called ‘Dead Poets Live’, and they specialise in bringing poetry to life through the power of theatre. Devised and supported by the T.S. Elliot Foundation, this exciting opportunity was offered to all Key Stage 3 students (Years 7-9).

First, all of Years 7 & 8 enjoyed a very special show in the school hall (pictured second above). This interactive and fun show focused on the purpose and ‘point’ of poetry – looking at why we have needed poetry to teach, to learn, and to explore feelings over time. The show used humour to great effect, as well as getting students on stage to have a go themselves!

After school, Year 9 drama students (pictured right above) could opt in to a unique Shakespeare-themed workshop. It was co-ordinated by two actors who learned at prestigious drama schools – RADA and Guildhall. One of them has also worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company! They brought this pedigree into school to take students through a series of tasks to help them see Shakespeare in a new way. This workshop was filmed; the company will use the footage to create a series of online lessons to support schools teaching Shakespeare. The boys were brilliant throughout – they loved getting involved. Well done, everyone!

View slideshow images

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Exam Busters

As Year 11 approach their Pre-Public Examinations next week, we have been doing everything we can to get them ready. Part of that work included hosting an external company during the half-term break to run a special session focused on revision. We were delighted that so many Year 11s attended to discover ‘Strategies for Success’. There was a focus on memory techniques, understanding and condensing topics, The Review Philosophy, and the concept of ‘Growth Mindset’. Students also learned ways they can relax and create a healthy working environment at home. The session was very valuable for students as they seek to maximise their progress.

Coming Up Next Week

A student takes part in an international sporting competition… Key Stage 4 Courses Evening helps Year 9 imagine their futures… we announce the results of the Poetry by Heart school final… the date for the Drama & Music Showcase is revealed… Saturday auditions for the National Youth Theatre take place… and much more!