From the Headteacher
We welcomed a team of inspectors from Ofsted into the school on Wednesday 11 and Thursday 12 May for an unannounced monitoring visit. They looked at a range of work and written information, went into a number of lessons and spoke to various staff and a wide range of students. The lead inspector specifically wanted to express her thanks to the students for the “really polite and very respectful” way in which they engaged in the meetings with the inspection team. I am also grateful to the parents/carers who took the time to respond to the Ofsted survey. We expect a final report around the end of June.
The written examinations for our senior students start this week. I wish all of our students the very best for the next few weeks and urge them to keep working hard throughout this time. Our staff will still be available for support during the examination period.
Enjoy the week ahead.
Euan Ferguson
Exam Preparation
Just a short reminder that all students must know their exam timetables for the start of exams this week. The school website also has a helpful range of revision materials. Good luck to all!
Safeguarding Updates
Please be aware that there was a press article last week about thieves using e-scooters in West London to target schoolchildren for the theft of their phones and wallets. Please alert your children to this type of crime.
If you have a concern about the safety or welfare of your or another child, please email the safeguarding team at safeguarding@isleworthsyon.org
New Trustees (Governors)
We are pleased to report that we have secured the services of two new trustees who will be joining the Academy Trust Board in the near future. Full details will follow soon and once a start date has been confirmed.
Word of the Week
The word of the week for next week is “appropriate“.
News
Athletics – National Lead
As reported last week, Mr Adams and Mr Rush accompanied a number of students to the English Schools’ Athletics Regional Championships at the Lee Valley stadium on Friday 6 May. There were some excellent performances from a number of students, including our only Year 7 representative, Phoenix Offiah, running in the Year 8 competition and clocking an impressive 12.6s for 100m.
The standout display came from Year 10 student, Cejan Jacobs (pictured) who ran 200m in 22.10s, the fastest time for his age group in the country this year, eclipsing the current best of 22.99s. In addition, he surpassed the previous school record of 23.20s which was held by Lee Miller and dated back to 1999. Well done, to all the competitors!
Geography Fieldwork Returns
Fieldwork is an important part of the geography curriculum and links learning directly to the real world. It has a long tradition in the geography curriculum but it has been missing from a student’s experience for two years due to the pandemic. However, it is now back and is one of the most distinctive features of a geographical education, feeding our curiosity about the world and also allowing students to make sense of the knowledge acquired in the classroom. At school we have a long and proud record of providing fieldwork opportunities to enhance the taught curriculum and it has now been reintroduced, starting with some initial work using our own school grounds.
In this picture you can see Year 9 students summarising their findings with Miss Durnien.
The 47th
Our Year 9 students, all part of the drama club, have been taking part in a partnership with members of The Old Vic theatre company. This work includes workshops that have, during the pandemic, taken place virtually but have now returned to being on site. The students have a chance to work with theatre professionals and enjoy the glimpse into the industry as well being challenged to develop their own performance skills and knowledge of the theatre.
The link also allows the students an opportunity to see live theatre performances and on Wednesday 11 May, thirty of them, accompanied my Mr McDonnell, Miss Thomson and Miss Adejonwo, watched a performance of The 47th, a political piece about the election of the next President of the United States in 2024.
FA Refereeing Career Beckons
We were delighted to hear that the Surrey Football Association have appointed Sixth Form student Conor McCrudden to referee Fulham Academy games due to his impressive performances in youth and Sunday league matches. Conor has been told that the FA are ‘delighted with his performances’ this season.
He has already refereed at Fulham’s training ground but last week received an email appointing him to a game at the main Craven Cottage stadium to take control of the fixture against QPR. We wish Conor the very best for the next stage of his refereeing career.