Week 30 (24-28 March 2025)

Welcome from the Co-Headteachers

Breaking the cycle of avoidance

Throughout the week, House assemblies have also been messaging students about becoming stronger independent learners and, in particular, breaking the cycle of avoidance. This means making good decisions about revision (little & often) and being more responsible; it’s about becoming what employers call “finishers”. This means:

• completing classwork
• completing PPA (homework)
• completing our expectation of reading for 20 minutes every day.

Key to successfully breaking this cycle is a shared responsibility; a partnership between school, parents / carers and every student. Given this, we encourage all parents / carers to devote time to discussing – and checking – these important positive habits with their son / ward. Please read the remainder of this newsletter as it contains more important information about the vision and values of our school.

Simon Fisher and Jo Higginbottom

End of Term

Early Finish and The Pantry Burger Bar

Parents / Carers are reminded that school closes early on Friday 4th April. This is standard for the end of term. There will be no school clubs or onsite events after school, hence, expect your son / ward home earlier than usual.

To celebrate the last day of term, on Friday 4th April, we are transforming the school canteen into a Burger Bar!

Students can grab some hot potato wedges, choose from three delicious burgers (beef, chicken, veggie), and visit our toppings bar – where they can help themselves to up to 16 tasty toppings to create their perfect burger.

Please ensure your son/ward’s Scopay account is topped up to avoid disappointment on the day.

A great way to end the term on a high!

Literacy

READ, READ, READ

We were delighted that Isleworth & Syon School was selected to be one of 20 schools from around the UK to take part in a national reading project for young people in Year 8. The aim of the study was to boost children’s enjoyment of reading through their participation in a weekly book club discussion led by a member of the library team. As a school, we invest an incredible amount of time, energy and resources into literacy. Suffice to say, this project added important value to our whole-school drive to improve reading across all age groups. For example, we received 200 free children’s books for our library, a weekly author’s letter and a £100 Amazon voucher for additional resources for running the book clubs. More importantly, the findings from this study will be used to raise awareness of the importance of reading for enjoyment and shared with other schools and Government. It might even influence new national policy.

Timeline: since October 2024 to Spring half-term 2025 some students in Year 8 have been taking part in a weekly book club discussion; this was part of their library reading lesson. Students were encouraged to choose and read from a wide selection of books donated by the publishers and participate in book-related discussions. At the start and end of the research trial the target students completed a survey in which they relayed how they felt about reading as well as their reading preferences and behaviour.

Big picture – this project allowed the school and researchers to monitor as well as measure the impact of taking part in a weekly book club. Why? Research shows that children who enjoy reading and read in their own time benefit academically and have better wellbeing than children who do not.

Results: the researchers provided feedback that “you’ve been amazing. We will be using Isleworth & Syon school as a case study in the report, as an example of our greatest success story, and to show what’s possible when (school) librarians really get behind a reading group for reluctant readers.” A big thank you to Ms Squires and Ms Matthews, our two dynamic and incredibly knowledgeable school librarians.

Coming Up!

Dates for the diary

You can access the entire calendar via this link.

Partnership working

Competitions

As a school we really appreciate and greatly value outstanding opportunities to enrich the curriculum for all of our students. As noted above, reading is recognised as the single most, best opportunity to raise standards; simply, literacy is key to everything – both academic success and emotional intelligence. Yet, be aware that other enrichment opportunities are always welcome. Get in touch if you are aware of any competitions and events. If so, please email school@isleworthsyon.org

Maths Feast

This Hounslow-borough wide event, held at Gumley House School, was a resounding success. The seamless organization and engaging competitive rounds focused on problem-solving and teamwork skills. The enthusiasm and high student participation rates reflected the value it provided, making it a really memorable and effective gathering of like-minded, mathematically capable students.

“This team event really did exceed my expectations; I truly enjoyed working alongside my peers.”

Sixth Form Student Leadership

Sport Impact Conference

We know that Isleworth & Syon students are very lucky to have a diet of both high-quality physical education and a huge array of extra-curricular activities which they can attend. In addition, Physical activity levels at break and lunchtime are exceptional as boys play a range of sports like basketball, cricket, football and table tennis.

Earlier this week, our Year 12 Sports Leaders supported an important regional public health event, focusing on school strategies to reduce obesity among children and young people. These senior student ambassadors were responsible for engaging with over 250 delegates – with some even presenting their own ideas on how to engage young people and communities. They spoke in a coherent, concise and precise manner – a credit to our school. Students had a great time – including meeting former I&S student Sir Mo Farah!

Such external leadership opportunities are invaluable; they provide unique experiences for our young people to both develop their soft skills and build-up their growing CVs. Indeed, this is a big part of why the school was recently awarded “Centre of Excellence” status!

Extra-curricular clubs

Buy-in

We encourage all students to buy-in our extensive enrichment programme which is free. Very little equipment is needed and where it is, the school provides it. This past term has seen a surge in attendance to school clubs after school so, please push, drive your son / ward to attend. Look out for the upcoming opportunities in the summer term.

Progress and Preparation Activities (PPA)

Homework

When students effectively complete their Progress and Preparation Activities (PPA – homework) research shows that they make, on average, six months more academic progress. Given this, it is imperative that parents / carers monitor INSIGHT as well as check-in on the PPA completion rates of their son / ward. Our early advice is for students to complete PPA in a public place – not in their bedroom. Do this for 2-3 weeks; get your son / ward to earn your trust. Students never don’t have PPA because, of course, 20 minutes of reading every day is also PPA.

Free school meals

Across the UK, the cost of living crisis continues to bite. Given this, we recognise that the personal circumstances of children and families may have changed over the summer. Be aware, currently, nearly one in three of students at our school are on FSM and we suspect that more could apply. As well as a free, nutritious lunch, students on FSM can also access free revision resources, laptops and subsidised trips. If your circumstances have changed, apply for FSM support – here

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

Prestige – 350 total

• Logan BRADBURY (9Sh)
• Roo CLARK (9Sn)
• Swagat DAHAL (8Br)
• Sultan NORISTANI WALIZADA (7Tr)

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.

Go Ape high-ropes course

by Aidan Shiels

This was a super trip because a lot of people on our Year 12 course hadn’t been before; it was a genuine new challenging experience. Initially, we started learning the basic skills on low-level equipment: leaping, swinging, balancing, counter-balancing. This also allowed us to film some content for our level 3 course which was the main purpose of the trip. After everyone felt confident with the basic moves and physical skills we progressed onto the high-level course. The climbing route started by us climbing a really high ladder while connected by a carabiner clip and harness. This all felt really weird at first but it soon became a lot easier as we moved around the course using zip-wires. Throughout the exhilarating climb we video-recorded specific skills which were needed to prove that we had been completed this outdoor and adventurous activity. The whole day was extremely good fun.