Newsletter
Uxbridge High School
A MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL
Welcome to the final school newsletter of the academic year. I hope that you have found that our newsletters, coupled with regular updates on our website and Twitter accounts, have kept you up to date and informed throughout the year. You will find the links to both at the bottom of the newsletter. Your feedback on the improvement to our communication with parents is most welcome.
This term has been especially busy with many trips, visits and extra curricular and sporting events. It has also been our main examination season with all students, especially those in years 11 and 13, sitting important examinations. I would like to congratulate all students, particularly those in Years 11 and 13, for their positive approach to tough public exams.
Along with all schools locally and nationally, we have had to seek dramatic cost savings for next year. You will be aware through national media that school budgets are being cut year on year in real terms. Whilst at present, UHS has not had to cut staff or provision, this remains a significant option in the near future, if the government does not address the pressing issue of school funding. We would encourage you to make representation regarding school funding by writing or emailing local politicians, councillors and your MP to express your views, along with the school and governors.
As always at this time of year, we prepare to say goodbye to a number of staff. I would like to offer, on behalf of staff and students at the school warm congratulations to Mrs Betty Chong, Mr Kiran Ranchod and Mrs Lesley Tasker, who have given long and loyal service to the school. They all retire at the end of this term. We wish them all well for a long and happy retirement. We also wish Ms Sarah Girvan the very best as she moves on to another post at the end of this term.
I am pleased that we will be fully staffed when we return to school in September. I would particularly like to welcome two new members of staff who will be joining our leadership team next year. Mr Simon Tattersall will be joining us from St Joseph's School in Slough and Ms Kajade Patrick will be joining us from Villiers High School in Ealing.
Please follow the link below to the UHS Principal Twitter feed, where you can keep up to date with all events and news from the school.
RECENT EVENTS
We have all been saddened by recent multiple terror attacks and the horrific fire at Grenfell Tower. It is a testament to our strong school community that students and staff alike have shown solidarity and respect as we address these issues in assemblies, at the moment it seems on a regular basis. I am sure I join with you all in expressing our support to all the victims of these senseless crimes and tragedies.
We have thanked students for their response and have taken time in tutor groups to reflect further with them, reinforcing our strong sense of community and PROUD values through assembly messages .
We are aware that our students may feel a sense of increased worry or vulnerability at this time. For this reason, I have asked that all staff remain vigilant and where appropriate offer students support and extra reassurance.
PARENTPAY
As you are aware, over the past year, payments for trips, music lessons, and other items purchased from the school have been made through ParentPay or via a PayPoint barcode letter that links to ParentPay. We have now upgraded our catering system to adopt the same ‘cashless’ system, enabling you to ‘top up’ your son/daughter’s restaurant account online.
This system has a number of advantages. Most beneficial will be that you feel reassured that money topped up on your son/daughter’s account will only be used for the purchase of food in our school restaurant. Students will not need to carry and look after cash during the school day. Additionally, the upgraded system allows reports to be produced, detailing what your son/daughter has eaten. It also allows you to recommend a maximum daily spend, should you wish to.
If you are unable to pay online, an alternative is to use a PayPoint card. This will enable you to load cash at a PayPoint. Please be advised that if using the PayPoint card method, you will require a separate card for each child. In contrast, if you use ParentPay online, one account can be set up for up to six children, each account can also have more than one payer. If you require a PayPoint card, please contact Main Reception.
When paying online through ParentPay, the payment is available within a few minutes. When topping up using cash payments through PayPoint, you must allow up to two working days for the funds to be available to use.
For further information on ParentPay and PayPoint, please visit the ParentPay website below.
BEHAVIOUR WATCH
We are pleased to be introducing a new system that allows you to monitor your son/daughter’s attitude to learning, behaviour, rewards and sanctions on a day to day basis.
As staff at the school record these details, you will automatically be sent an update by text message. We will also be sending you half termly updates, which will share all of the positive and negative behaviour points attributed to your son/daughter. We hope that this will help you to fully support your child and to improve communications with the school.
We have been trialling the system with a small number of staff over the past half term and you may have begun to receive update text messages. We envisage that the system will be fully operational in September. The system has been endorsed by several local schools and they state that their parents have been hugely positive about the impact it has made.
SCHOOL UNIFORM
As we will be a cashless school from September, all school uniform will now only be available directly from the uniform supplier, there will not be any uniform available to purchase on the school site. Sportswear International offer a free delivery service directly to the school or will deliver to your home. The link to their website is below.
EXAMS
We have had positive feedback from students across Years 11, 12 and 13 and look forward to sharing the public examination results with you in the summer. Year 12 and 13 will collect their results on 17th August and Year 11 on 24th August. Below are some photos of the fantastic motivation and encouragement given by staff during the exam period.
UKMT INTERMEDIATE MATHS CHALLENGE
Congratulations to the following students who were awarded bronze certificates in the UKMT Maths Challenge:
Aminur Chowdhury
Sumaiya Uddin
Bradley Motler
Morgan Halloran
William Dunster
Amber Birdi
Mirwais Nazimi
Mujahid Uddin
Daniel Abdullaj
Mohamed Bare
Lewis Bennell
Mohamed Bah
Tia Buckingham
Paulo Pena
Joe Moran
Yaishna Bheekarry
Harun Abdi
Elia Roddy
Callina France
John Neacsu
Congratulations to the following students who were awarded silver certificates:
Yuvraj Mair (Highest Result in Year 7)
Aya Elmijrab
Harith Abdulrazzaq
Khameel Awuni
Congratulations to Callum Matthew-Lee who was awarded a gold certificate and achieved the highest result in the school!
BRILLIANT CLUB
Students have taken part in the Brilliant Club, a programme which gives students an insight into life at the UK's top universities. Students work on assignments with a PHD student as a mentor.
This year we have had the most successful Brilliant Club to date, with a 100% pass rate! 83% of students achieved a first or 2:1 for their final assignment and 42% achieved a first overall.
The students travelled to Oxford University and to the University of London as part of the programme.
YEAR 6 INDUCTION DAY
On 4th July, we hosted an Induction Day for our new Year 7 students. They enjoyed a variety of lessons and assemblies and were able to meet their classmates and make friends ahead of the start of the new term in September.
VISUAL & PERFORMING ARTS
SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL
We were delighted to celebrate our first year as an RSC Lead Associate School by hosting a summer Shakespeare Festival.
There were six performances of Shakespeare-inspired drama pieces and lots of stalls, music, games and refreshments to add to the celebrations! Five of our RSC associate schools performed; Harlington Community School, Whitehall Junior School, Hayes Park Primary School, Vyners School and Haydon School.
Our very own drama club headlined the festival with a performance of ‘The Uxbridge Tempest,’ which is a brand new play based on Shakespeare’s The Tempest, but is set in Uxbridge! The students, along with Miss Moore, improvised and wrote a new version with some interesting characters!
Our Regional Theatre Partner, Intermission Youth Theatre, were the compares for the evening and worked with our associate schools to rehearse the performances.
We hope you were able to come along and enjoy the evening of Shakespeare.
FOR MORE MUSIC NEWS FOLLOW THE VISUAL & PERFORMING ARTS' TWITTER FEED
CITIZENSHIP
This term we have been celebrating student achievements in Active Citizenship through charity projects. Year 9 have created an advertisement project for the Guide Dogs and also raised money for the Hillingdon Foodbank, culminating in a visit by a local blind speaker, Christine Finlayson, and her dog Sid. We managed to raise over £300 for local charities this term, alongside donations of food and other much needed products for local families.
Elsewhere in citizenship, Year 8 have been busy finishing their work on the Real Game, ensuring that they are ready and prepared for the world of work and know what options they will be taking as they enter Year 9. Year 7 have also been preparing to celebrate ‘Being British’, learning about the history and culture of Britain and the values that are represented in this country.
‘Good Citizen’ awards have been given to students who have gone far above and beyond this year in UHS to promote our PROUD values, students who have been anti-bullying ambassadors or have contributed to the wider community!
TRIP TO YPRES
On 16th June, Year 9 students had a full day in Ypres, Belgium. The day involved the following activities:
- A visit to Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery where nearly 12,000 British Commonwealth soldiers were laid to rest from WW1.
- A visit to Langemark Military Cemetery to compare how Germany remembers WW1 differently to Britain.
- A visit to In Flanders Museum.
- A visit to a pottery workshop where students made their own soldier sculptures, which will be used as part of a large exhibition next year to commemorate the centenary of the war ending.
- A visit to the Meningate and Indian Memorial.
Students ended the day by visiting an authentic Belgian chocolate shop and had time to explore the city prior to coming home.
UHS GENERAL ELECTION
UHS House Turnout
Tudor House – 59%
Lancaster House – 54%
York House – 61%
Windsor House – 49%
Stuart House – 58%
Number of votes cast – 482
Overall turnout – 58.4%
YEAR 11 INDUCTION DAY
There was a fantastic turnout to the Year 11 Induction to the Sixth Form. Students participated in team building activities, including building and driving their own go-karts!
TECHNOLOGY WEEK
As part of Technology Week, students came to the hall during lunchtimes to make their own fidget spinners, badges and biscuits.
Owen, York House - 'It was brilliant. I hope to come back next year!"
Harshdeep, Tudor House - "It was really fun to make fidget spinners and badges."
Balmeek, Tudor House - "I enjoyed making badges and fidget spinners, it was great fun. I'm looking forward to making them next year!"
Callum, Tudor House - "I enjoyed making the fidget spinners because they use forces and they work!"
YEAR 8 TRIP TO THE MILL
Year 8 had a great day at The Mill in Dorking. They were able to experience the great outdoors, whilst taking part in various team building activities, such as a low ropes assault course, orienteering and survival shelter building. The students showed great enthusiasm and team work throughout the day and got truly stuck in with the tasks. They did not let the rain stop them, in fact it added to the fun of the day!
NATIONAL SCHOOL SPORT WEEK
We took part in National School Sport Week, where students had the opportunity to experience a number of different sports, including archery, Gaelic football, karate, lacrosse, ultimate frisbee, golf and yoga. Our NSSW tweets were so successful that the Youth Sports Trust have awarded us with a visit from an athlete mentor!
FOOTBALL TEAM TOUR TO HOLLAND
HOLLAND TOUR STUDENT REVIEW
It was a very early start for all the lads and myself at 4:30 at Uxbridge High School. We got on the coach and we all thought we could go back to sleep, but then the excitement kicked in. We had finally made it to the ferry and it was a good journey to Calais. On our final journey to get to Holland, I and most of the lads got some sleep.
After a long journey, we had made it to Centre Parcs. We all went to our cabins and dropped off our bags, got straight into our swimming shorts and went over to the swimming pool to cool down for a few hours. This was followed by the teachers cooking us tasty pasta – high in carbohydrates. Day 1 complete.
Year 8 and I got an early start, having breakfast and being on the coach for 8:00. We arrived at SV Juliana ’31 and were greeted by amazing pitches and lovely clear, blue skies. In our first game against CVV Berkel, we had a slow start but then got into the game and came out 11-0 winners! In our second game against ZVV Zaandijk, we won 4-0. Our final game of the day was against Seastum and probably our hardest game so far, but we came out winning 5-3, so winning all 3 games meant we would play on the Sunday.
After a very hot morning, we were on our way back to Centre Parcs and were planning to go straight to the swimming pool again. We did so, spending at least 2 hours in there and then going back to the cabins and getting ready for the FA cup final. The Year 7s came back and we found out that they had made it into the final day as well and we were delighted since both teams had made it to the final day. While watching the FA Cup final, we were surprised with a pizza each. By the end of the night some of us were happy and some were not due to the final result in the FA cup final, but we were looking forward to tomorrow, so we all got some sleep. A great day 2.
On day 3, none of the years had an early start, so we had a lay in until the storm came and woke some of us up. Since we were playing in the afternoon, we used the activities on the site. Some of the lads and I hired out so buggies to go round the site and had a really good time, even though it was pouring with rain, this still didn’t put us off. The time came for the final day and Year 8 had drawn a tough group against Luton Town Academy, The host SV Juliana ’31 and Karlslunde Fodbold . Our first game against Luton Town was a cracker of a game, coming out as a fair result 3-3, but it felt like we could have won the game.
Our second game was against the host SV Juliana ’31 and was a 8-1 win, but our final game was a must win to go through to the finals. We were playing Karlslunde Fodbold. The game was very heated with both teams wanting to win, but some debatable decisions by the referee made us come out with a last minute penalty to salvage us a draw. This wasn’t enough to go to the finals, which the boys and I were disappointed about, but we still had to play for 3rd and 4th play off. We were going to play against Whitkirk Wanderers, an English team and since they had a game before, both teams were very tired, so we settled for a penalty shoot-out. We lost but we tried to win in style by doing back heels and flicks, but it didn’t work so we came out 4th place, but with great memories.
We finished the day by going to see the home stadium of the top team in the Eredivisie League, PSV, followed by a McDonalds and made a tired journey back to Centre Parcs, then straight to bed. What a great day 3.
Day 4 was a long journey home from a great trip. There was a bit of a delay at Calais but a relaxing journey home.
I’d like to thank the teachers on behalf of Year 8 for giving us this fantastic opportunity and trusting us out there and making it a memorable tournament. Hopefully there will be more to come.
FRANKIE MAJOR, YEAR 8
SPORTS DAY
MAY BALL 2017
The Sixth Form May Ball took place this year at the beautiful venue of Heatherden Hall in Pinewood Studios. Staff, governors, students and friends enjoyed dinner, followed by an evening of musical entertainment. We were also joined by James Spicer, a well-known and established photographer in London. Photos from the event can be purchased online from the website linked below.
This is the highlight of the year for the Sixth Form leavers, as it is a time when we can look back at the last twelve months and review their achievements and successes, while also looking ahead to whatever the future brings.
Several prizes were awarded during the evening. The winners were as follows:
Service to the School Award – Tushane Peart
Academic Award for Achievement – Aisha McPherson
Academic Award for Progress and Effort – Chloe Hennings
Governors' Award – William Rodriguez and Sanah Sacranie
We are very proud of all of our students and hope they go on to achieve everything they hope for, whether it be in apprenticeships, university or the world of work.
YEAR 11 PROM
UPCOMING EVENTS
Please be reminded that the summer term ends at 12.45 on Thursday 20th July
Thursday 17th August: Post-16 Results Day
Thursday 24th August: Year 11 Results Day & Sixth Form Enrolment
Monday 4th September:Staff Training Day
Tuesday 5th September: Staff Training Day
Wednesday 6th September - 08.40: Start of Term for Year 7, 11 and Sixth Form students
Thursday 7th September 08.40: Start of Term for Year 8, 9 and 10 students.
Thursday 21st September - 17.30 - 19.30: SEN Parental Information Evening
Monday 2nd October - 18.00 - 20.00: Open Evening
Wednesday 11th October - 09.45 - 10.45: Open Morning
Thursday 12th October- 09.45 - 10.45: Open Morning
Thursday 2nd November - 17.00 - 19.00: Y11 Parental Engagement Evening
Tuesday 21st November - 18.00 - 19.30: Post- 16 Open Evening
Thursday 30th November - 17.00 - 19.30 : Y7 Parents' Evening
Thursday 7th December - 17.00 - 19.30: Y13 Parents' Evening
Tuesday 12th December - 18.00 - 19.00: Christmas Concert
Thursday 21st December - End of term