Newsletter
March 2018
OFSTED
I am delighted to share with you our Ofsted report and to confirm that we have been judged as good in every section of the report, with the exception of personal development, welfare and behaviour, which has been judged as outstanding.
The main summary findings from the inspection are that:
- the quality of teaching is good;
- students know how to improve and make good progress in all year groups;
- students’ behaviour is outstanding;
- students are very well supported by staff;
- the sixth form provides a studious and vibrant learning environment in which students gain valuable study skills;
- high quality careers guidance helps students to be well prepared for the next steps in education;
- the school has meticulous systems and routines for safeguarding students;
- students develop skills, interest and knowledge in a wide range of subjects because of the school’s well planned curriculum and a wealth of extra-curricular activities.
The inspectors noted particularly that students are proud to uphold the values of the school. Please take the time to review the full report, which is linked below.
Should you require a hard copy, please contact office@uhs.org.uk and we will be pleased to post a copy to you.
I would like to thank all parents for your continued support of the school, a school of which we are all rightfully proud.
EASTER REVISION
As we approach the summer term, it is important that all students are revising for their end of year exams, please see the links below for extra revision support.
All Year 11 parents will have received a letter regarding Easter intervention and revision, please see a copy of the schedule below:
BUGSY MALONE
After many months of innovative, creative hard work, we were overjoyed with the positive, elated responses from audiences on both nights who enjoyed our show: Bugsy Malone.
It was a complete and resounding success that truly lived up to its billing in every sense. The costumes glittered, the lights dazzled, the set was stylish, and even the props were authentic, 1920's phones and view finders transported the audience to the world of Bugsy Malone.
The band of dedicated student musicians were a real strength of this production, keeping a firm beat and projecting a great, jazzy sound that kept the energy and tension fizzing all night long.
The all singing and dancing cast of more than 40 UHS students on the stage were a delight, their grasp of the characters, professionalism and commitment to their roles drew smiles, gasps of appreciation and much laughter in all the right moments, from the sold-out activity studio audiences.
Some audience members loved the first night so much, they begged for more tickets and extra seats had to be laid on so that they could return the following evening! Several students including Brandon (Bugsy Malone) and Bethany (Blousey Brown) commented after the final show, “I loved it so much, please can we perform it all again?”
We would like to thank the whole school community for their wonderful support, in particular all the staff who worked incredibly hard to get Bugsy Malone to such a high standard. Thanks also to parents, governors and friends of the school for coming along to enjoy the show and of course the terrific cast and band, for their outstanding performances that will live on in memory for years to come.
AWARDS EVENING
On Wednesday 7th March we held a fantastic awards evening to celebrate the successes of a large number of students, with each curriculum area nominating a student for progress, achievement and effort. There were also a number of special awards given out including the Jamal Salandy arts award, the David Burrows PE award and also the design and technology award.
Throughout the evening there were a number of performances, including a 'Slam Poetry' reading, a scene from Julius Caesar and a number of Bugsy Malone songs.
Congratulations to all award winners and thank you to staff, parents and governors for making this such a successful event.
SIXTH FORM NEWS
It is a pleasure to introduce our new senior student team: Catarina and Ellis, our new head students; Lewis, Rithik, Nicky, Shahmeer and Ahmad, our new deputy head students; Seifedden, Jasmin and Muhammad, our new assistant head students; Tom, Ilwaad, Farah, Fatima and Ketan, our new senior students.
WORLD BOOK DAY
In the week leading up to World Book Day, students enjoyed quiz competitions in the library during lunchtimes as well as taking part in the Design the National Book Token competition.
On World Book Day, Year 7, 8 and 9 students welcomed two authors, Marianne Levy and Alexia Casale, who led Q&A sessions as well as workshops on writing and the challenges of being a writer.
Please click the links below for photos.
SCIENCE WEEK
This term, the science department celebrated British Science Week from 12th to 16th March.
Throughout science week at Uxbridge High School, Year 7 students were learning about forensic science. The students were able to take their fingerprints, analyse DNA and figure out who wrote a death note! Their curiosity, enthusiasm and investigation skills led them to find out who the murderer was in a murder case study. Year 7 students also role played a scene from the court, where they had to report their findings to the judge and back up their findings with scientific evidence. Well done year 7s - you’d make excellent forensic scientists!
On Tuesday 13th March, Uxbridge High School was proud to hold an interactive exotic animal workshop for science week. Year 8 students were introduced to a range of animals from The Party Animals Ltd, from raccoons to tarantulas, and an astounding 8 foot-long albino Burmese python, which delighted and fascinated the students. Students were able to hold and experience these rare and beautiful species up close, and they even had the opportunity to learn about the amazing adaptations that allowed these animals to survive in the wild. It was a hugely successful event, and a great privilege for Uxbridge High School to host such a new and exciting addition to science week.
MATHS - COUNT ON US CHALLENGE
30 students from Year 8 took part in the Mayor of London's Count on Us challenge in association with the Jack Petchey Foundation. The students had to complete a series of rounds testing their numerical, problem solving and strategic thinking. The students worked really hard during the challenge; demonstrating our values of positivity and determination. Congratulations to the winning team who have now been chosen to represent Uxbridge High School in the next part of the challenge!
UKMT Intermediate Kangaroo Maths Challenge
Students from Year 9, 10 and 11 were selected to take part in the UKMT Intermediate Kangaroo Maths Challenge on Thursday 1st Feb 2018.
Congratulations to the students shown in the table below who received certificates for their achievements in the challenge.
Aaron Parmar, Danyal Riaz and Callum Mathew-Lee have qualified to participate in the European Kangaroo Maths Challenge!
BEST OF LUCK FROM UHS!
FAIRTRADE FORTNIGHT
BBC SCHOOL REPORT
42 key stage 3 students enjoyed taking part in the BBC School Report on 15th March, organised by Ms Hanif. They developed their journalism skills, literacy and digital literacy by joining this nationwide high profile initiative. The aim was for students to be able to access the news and differentiate between fake and real news and read with discerning minds.
Students were introduced to the idea of writing for a specific audience and have been developing their research skills and gathering sources that journalists use to make sure their reports are truthful and accurate.
Year 7 & 8 students wrote news reports within tight deadlines, worked as a team and experienced the importance of the three Cs of scripting - being clear, concise and correct and the key concept of impartiality.
Five Year 9 students were tasked with editing the articles. Ms. Harrison and Ms. Cox accompanied 12 students who were given an opportunity to gather and report newsworthy topics at Metropolitan University on the same day.
News items ranged from discussing the impact of social media on young people, interviewing the principal about the impact of the Heathrow expansion, to writing a tribute to the late Stephen Hawkins.
Please check out their articles, Vlogs and Tweets.
REWARDS
This term, we've been proud to celebrate the positive atmosphere of our school. We've had a rewards lunch with representatives from KS4 and the sixth form to talk about the perception of the school and their future careers. Ella Walker represented Year 10 and told members of the senior leadership team about her aspirations to be a make-up artist. From Year 11, Nazia Nabeel and Jonathan Cooper shared their pride in the school and how happy they are about the improvements they have seen made in the last few years. Bradley Fiddes felt that staying with the school for sixth form was the best choice he could have made. Catarina Silva, our newly-elected head girl, shared her love of acting and how it has been well fostered by the performing arts department at UHS.
Not only that, but we've taken an outstanding group of KS3 and KS4 students to the Museum of London to celebrate the positive points they have gained over the last term. It was a pleasure to see them asking questions of the writer Charles Dickens in a fantastic reenactment and handling objects from the Victorian age which inspired some interesting character creation.
Next term, we're going to be taking KS3 students with exemplary behaviour records to KidZania, for a day thinking about their future and later in the summer, we'll be off to PGL with Years 7, 8, 9 & 10 to celebrate their outstanding behaviour this year.
JACK EVANS AWARD
Congratulations to Archie who was awarded a Jack Evans award by the Mayor of Hillingdon for his fantastic work in raising over £1300 for Macmillan.
CITIZENSHIP
This term students have continued investigating contemporary world issues including LGBT History Month, child soldiers and the impacts of trade and globalisation on the worldwide community. Our Year 7 and 8 students have also been exploring the need for safety, including road and transport safety in Uxbridge as well as online safety, such as the use of social media.
We are proud to have welcomed visitors to the school including the Daniel Spargo-Mabbs Foundation who informed students of the dangers of drugs, a ‘Stop and Search’ workshop helping students discover their local police force and a presentation by the Teenage Cancer Trust to all Year 10 students.
SPANISH
Year 7 Spanish students have had the opportunity to use their Spanish skills to create a range of football challenges whilst only speaking en español! Using our exciting dome building, the students filmed their sporting endeavours to be sent to the world-famous Arsenal Football Club for a chance to win an official tour of the Emirates Stadium!
SPORTS NEWS
Basketball
Years 7, 8, 9 and 11 have all competed in the borough basketball tournament. Each year group managed to reach the semi final and were narrowly defeated. Great consistency across all year groups and a fantastic effort from all students involved.
Football
Year 9 have seen much success throughout this year. Unfortunately they were just beaten 4-3 in a nail biting encounter where they initially took the lead in the first half. They are however looking forward to a home semi final in the borough league against Guru Nanak.
For the second year running, UHS hosted a borough indoor football tournament organised by Mr Humpleby. This saw Year 7 and 8 boys, U13 and U15 girls with a total of 43 teams entering the competition and taking part across five evenings. This will now be an annual tournament which we hope to win next year! Thank you to Mr Humpleby for organising such a great tournament.
Netball
Every year group at UHS managed to compete in this year's borough netball tournament. Unfortunately we didn't come away with a victory, but there were some very promising signs shown with some fantastic performances from our Year 7 and 8 girls in the early stages of the tournament.
Handball
Our Year 10 girls have accomplished something this year that no UHS team has managed in the past. Firstly winning the borough handball tournament and then going on to win the Middlesex finals, meaning they will now compete in the London Youth Games final! A huge achievement and great to see our school taking on new opportunities and participating in new sports.
Rugby Tour
Easter weekend sees our Year 7 and 8 rugby boys head over to Paris on the school's first rugby tour. From seeing the Eiffel tower, to a stadium tour at the Stade de France, our boys are hoping to have some fantastic new opportunities and experiences and fingers crossed, come away with a tour win against a tough French outfit.
A huge thank you must also go out to all of our sponsors who have kindly helped to provide a new kit for the tour. Northvale Construction, Grountel and Mrs Vansanten-Smith all made huge contributions to provide a full tour kit package.
Rewards and Achievements
Awards evening was a fantastic evening and an opportunity to celebrate our sporting success at UHS. From tremendous effort to international call ups, it's great to see how much the sport and individuals here at our school are continuing to develop.
Morgan Parmar, Ishika Sharma, Chloe Raeburn and Joanna Scanlon all received awards for their efforts in PE and success in sport outside of school.
As mentioned previously, Joanna will go on to represent GB in the all round gymnastics competition in Florida and Chloe will be representing England at the National Cheerleading Championships, also in Florida! Good luck and well done to all of you!
A huge well done to all of those students who continue to attend the extra-curricular opportunities we offer at UHS, and to those that have represented school teams and been part of our amazing sporting journey.
We are all looking forward to a great summer term filled with yet more success and great achievements.
SPORTS HUB
The Sports Hub section of the UHS website is now live! Here you will find information regarding kits, clubs and fixtures. You will also find team sheets, team photos and reviews. Please click the link below to visit the hub.
UPCOMING EVENTS
7th May 2018 - May Day (bank holiday)
25th May 2018 - KS3 sports day
25th May 2018 - Year 10 careers day
26th May 2018 - Sixth form May ball
28th May 2018 - 1st June 2018 - Half term
21st June 2018 - Summer open mic night
5th July 2018 - Year 11 prom
12th July 2018 - RSC Shakespeare Festival
19th July 2018 - End of term
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER FOR ALL OF THE MOST RECENT NEWS AND EVENTS
May we wish all students, parents, and governors a happy and healthy Easter!