Week 29 (17-21 March 2025)

Welcome from the Co-Headteachers

Developing healthy study habits

An array of learning walks around the majority of classrooms this week have demonstrated how much of a common and strong language of learning we possess within our school. Students are eager to reveal our common language of learning in every lesson through structured discussion, questioning and answers phases as well as storytelling. We have a distinctly powerful whole school focus on literacy and, in particular, developing oracy (structured speaking) within the classroom. 

Outside the classroom, as part of our extensive enrichment programme, sixth former student leaders – fresh from supporting British Science Week – have been leading on charity football events for national as well as international charities. With this in mind, within school assemblies Pastoral Leaders have been leading on Comic Relief and, in particular, promoting our young men as local, national global citizens on issues such as resolving homelessness, poverty, drought and famine. Our mantra for this is: Hounslow hearts, global minds. 

As ever, this newsletter contains important information about our other traditions and values so please read the full newsletter. 

Simon Fisher and Jo Higginbottom

Sleep routines

We regularly have a focus on the importance of sleep as an essential requirement for people to effectively carry-out our daily activities. Sleep is a learned behaviour; it is hugely important for the protection of our wellbeing and mental health as well as self-esteem. Crucially, it also helps with learning and the formation of long-term memories which, of course, supports rapid academic progress. Given this, it remains disappointing that a small minority of students continue to not obtain enough high-quality sleep by getting to bed early enough. Frequent problems involve students charging their mobile phones inside bedrooms or, more simply, not having a “lights off” curfew. Failure to develop strong sleep routines can lead to problems focusing on tasks and thinking clearly. To support your son / ward please review our checklist – here – as well as NHS guidance.

Coming Up!

Dates for the diary

You can access the entire calendar via this link.

Partnership working

NHS nursing service

Among a multitude of highly successful external working partnerships one of our most important links is with the NHS nursing service. Our designated NHS nurse is Chantal Revans; she works with, both, staff who require professional input in subject such as PSHE and science as well as young people who need guidance and support on a range of issues which include:

• diet and nutrition
• wellbeing and mental health
• personal hygiene

One other key feature of her role is to target individuals and their respective families who have displayed weight loss and / or weight gain.

Comic Relief

Thanks to House Leaders, students have been involved in an array of activities to support local community groups and youth services as well as UK and international charities. Lunchtime events have been particularly popular, most notably: beat the goalie on the 3G astro-turf, a staff versus student quiz in the main hall and an energetic treasure hunt around the school. Thank you to all involved; these activities really support the personal development of our young people.

Sixth Form Student Leadership

Our student leadership programme provides a huge range of formal and informal opportunities for our Sixth Form students to develop and demonstrate their communication skills. Over the past few weeks our senior ambassadors and student leaders have contributed to and led on:

• House assemblies in the lead-up to Comic Relief week
• In-house charitable events
• An inter-school Sixth Form quiz event between Sixth Form students from Brentford School for Girls and I&S
• Formal presentations to the school Trustees about their experiences at school.

Focusing on the latter, it goes without saying that Trustees were truly amazed at the verbal contributions of Blake Lawrence, Hafidh Abdalla and Nishant Brahmbhatt. Listening to these mature young men, both, articulate their vastly positive experiences of the school and deal with an array of challenging on-the-spot questions from the Trustees was an absolute privilege; they a credit to themselves, their families and their teachers.

Hounslow’s Teen Read

READ, READ, READ

The Carnegie Shadowing Group 2025 launched today.  Boys attending Friday’s Reading Club are keen to start reading the 8 books aimed at young people  which have been shortlisted for this award.  This year the books focus on key social issues, especially those affecting adolescents.  From now until June, when the winner is announced, we will be posting reviews, videos and photos on the Yoto Carnegie 2025  dashboard found on the School Library Website.

Safeguarding and personal development

Open and transparent conversations

It is essential to empower our boys with the knowledge and tools to protect themselves. As parents / carers, fostering open communication is the first step in building their confidence to avoid risky situations. Where are they going? Who are they meeting? What route are they travelling? Check their plans.   

Encourage your son / ward to trust their instincts; if a situation feels wrong, it’s okay to step away and seek help. Talking about hypothetical different scenarios can also prepare your son / ward to respond swiftly and wisely if they are confronted with threats.    

It is important to talk about the growing concern of knife crime directly. Teach your son / ward about the dangers of carrying knives, emphasising that possession of a weapon increases the risk of harm rather than offering protection. Encourage them to avoid confrontations and to seek help from trusted, appropriate adults or official authorities if they feel unsafe.    

Teach your son / ward the importance of staying aware of their surroundings, especially in unfamiliar settings. Avoid reducing awareness with ear pods or gazing at screens when traveling. Crucially, encourage them to stay connected with friends or trusted individuals when outdoors and to share their plans with you. Digital safety is just as critical; for example, remind them never to share personal information or meet strangers online. Overall, together, we can build a supportive environment that helps our students, your son / ward, stay safe and thrive.

Year 10 parent / carers evening

School – Parent / Carer partnership working

On Thursday 20th, year 10 parents/carers were invited in for Parents/Carers Evening, taking part in short meetings with teachers. Discussions were fruitful, looking at the progress made so far this year and how students can do even better in the rest of this year. There was also a work experience stand where students could find more information about how to organise their July placement. Thank you to all the parents/carers who attended!

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 get off their chest regarding school life.

Pride of House

The latest award winners

Please do click a house badge below to celebrate our 40 Pride of House winners for the last seven days. The prize has been awarded by pastoral staff to reflect a fantastic contribution to school life – well done everyone!

House Point Champions

Brilliant performances this week

This week, two more students have reached prestige award – a massive 350 total house points! Additionally, 21 received their Diamond award today. These students are fantastic role models for their peers – congratulations to:

Prestige – 350 total

Diamond – 250 total

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.

Extra curricular activities

Sixth form computing

As part of the school’s careers and IT programme, we took some Sixth Form computing students to Slough to take part in an IT workshop with current and recently graduated apprentices as well as visiting a Data Centre.

It was a fantastic all-day event, giving students access to information on IT apprenticeships, application guidance, what an assessment centre will look like, and different roles available within the industry. It truly was an excellent opportunity to see a key part of the country’s IT infrastructure and to meet and hear from professionals working in IT. Indeed, one student said afterwards, “I found this experience incredibly invaluable for my advancements into university this year.”