NEWSLETTER
July 2018
INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the final newsletter of 2017/18 a landmark year for the school. We began with our record breaking results last summer and have moved from strength to strength as the year has progressed. The hard work and determination of our students was recognised by an HMI led Ofsted team in February who confirmed our status as a leading Hillingdon school.
We have developed our public profile to share our work and successes widely and I hope that during the year you have enjoyed attending one of more of our events and been impressed by our wealth of opportunity and student talent, shown through our Twitter and Instagram accounts.
Planning is well underway for next year. I am delighted that we will be fully staffed across the school with some outstanding new teachers set to join us. We will be offering some exciting new courses such as sociology, psychology and photography to our older students to enrich our already broad curriculum. A wealth of extra curricular activities and enrichment opportunities are already scheduled for all year groups.
Ahead of the summer I would like to particularly reinforce our high uniform standards which are detailed below. We will be calling on the support of all parents and carers to ensure that students wear their uniform proudly both in school and in the local community.
May I finally wish all within our school community, you and your family a pleasant summer. I look forward to working with you in the new academic year and to welcoming our new staff and student joiners in Years 7 and 12 in September.
SUMMER ARRANGEMENTS
Summer school will be taking place on 23 and 24 July for Year 6 students joining UHS in September and CSI summer school will take place on 30 and 31 August for Year 5 students. Please be advised that places in both programmes must be pre-booked.
Post 16 results day will take place on 16 August and Year 11 results day on 23 August, we hope to see many of you there to celebrate our students’ successes.
The autumn term will commence with staff training days on Monday 3 September and Tuesday 4 September.
The autumn term will begin for students in Years 7, 11 and sixth form on Wednesday 5 September at 8.40am. For students in Years 8, 9 and 10 the term will begin on Thursday 6 September at 8.40am.
YEAR 6 TRANSITION
The FLC ran a transition programme to give students extra support during their transition from primary school to secondary. It consisted of five sessions and the students took part in a variety of activities ranging from getting to know the school and staff, making friends, curriculum introduction, making flapjacks, science experiments and PE lessons in the dome. It was attended by 27 students from 8 primary schools across the borough.
YEAR 6 INDUCTION DAY
It was a pleasure to welcome all of our new Year 7 students to the UHS induction day on 3rd July. Students had a fantastic time meeting their new classmates and taking part in lessons across different subjects. We look forward to welcoming back all of our new Year 7 students in September.
REDUCING OUR CARBON FOOTPRINT
To support our efforts with reducing plastic across the school, a number of changes will apply from September:
- Anyone purchasing a meal from the canteen and eating in the main hall will be required to use metal cutlery.
- All plastic cutlery will be replaced with wooden recyclable cutlery. These will be available for purchase if lunches are brought from home.
- In the Panini Bar, any tea and coffee purchases will be discounted if a sixth former or member of staff has their own reusable cup. Reusable lidded cups will also be available to purchase at the Panini Bar.
- We will be introducing additional water fountains on the school site, and we strongly encourage every student to bring in a reusable water bottle from home.
- From September a bottle of water will no longer be included within the meal deal.
UNIFORM
Please be reminded of our uniform and equipment policy, detailed below. Uniform and equipment checks will be made by either form tutors, house guidance leaders or heads of house. Failure to send your son/daughter to school in correct uniform, with correct equipment following this notification may result in your son/daughter being isolated in seclusion or sent home to change in to the appropriate uniform for school.
MAIN SCHOOL UNIFORM
Black blazer with school crest (compulsory for all)
Black jumper with school crest (optional)
Plain black trousers (no leggings / jeans or tight fitting trousers)
Plain black knee length skirt
School house tie (compulsory for all)
Apron for technology/art
PE KIT
Rugby shirt (compulsory for boys)
PE fleece (compulsory for girls)
Black polo shirt with school crest (compulsory for all)
Black shorts (compulsory for all)
Black track pants (compulsory for all)
Black sports socks (compulsory for all)
All of the above items of uniform can be purchased directly from our uniform supplier, Sportswear International, to be delivered direct to your home or to school. Please note that our uniform is not sold by any shops in the local area and if purchased elsewhere, you may find this is of poor quality and not the correct uniform.
- Smart outdoor coat – dark in colour (leather/leather look/denim/ hoodies/sweatshirts are not permitted and no large logos or writing allowed)
- Shoes – plain black
- Headscarves – plain black or navy blue
- Sports footwear for PE only – sports trainers, white soled trainers, football boots (see information below)
Students are not allowed to wear make-up in Years 7, 8, 9, 10, 11. Discreet make-up is permitted in Years 12 and 13. Nail varnish or false nails are not allowed.
One wrist watch is acceptable but no other adornment, on the wrist or fingers. Students with pierced ears will be allowed to wear small studs or small sleepers, but no hooped earrings. Items that are not acceptable will be confiscated until the end of the half term, when they can be collected from student services
It is important to note that both girls and boys will require football boots. However, these must have moulded rubber or plastic studs (either firm or soft ground versions). Metal studs/blades or astro-turf trainers are not permitted. This is in order for students to be able to play on our indoor 3G astro-turf pitch.
EQUIPMENT
All students should be equipped with a school bag large enough to carry A4 sized folders and books. It should be strong and able to protect books in wet weather. All students should have a pencil case with the following equipment inside:
· Student planner (provided by the school)
· Coloured pencils
· 2 black pens
· 1 green pen
· 2 sharpened pencils (with eraser if possible)
· 1 eraser/rubber (if pencil doesn’t have an eraser)
· 1 pencil sharpener
· 1 highlighter pen
· 1 30cm ruler
· 1 glue stick
· 1 geometry set
· 1 scientific calculator
· 1 clear pencil case
Students can purchase a pencil case from student services which contains most of the essential stationary items.
Tippex or other correction fluids are not allowed in school.
SIXTH FORM INDUCTION DAY
We would like to thank all those students that attended the sixth form induction day on the 4th July. It was a very positive and successful day, watching the students engaging in the activities, meeting the existing Year 12 students and the sixth form team.
During the induction day, students were asked to complete work over the summer period, ready for the start of their courses in September. For those students that did not attend please make sure you complete this work which can be found via the sixth form section of the school’s website under ‘transition’ (linked below).
We look forward to welcoming all of our new Y12 students back to UHS in September!
URBAN SCHOLARS
Congratulations to our Year 10 Urban Scholars who have completed their first year of the programme with a family and friends celebration on Saturday July 7th.
UCAS FURTHER EDUCATION DAY
During the UCAS further education day, Year 12 students were learning about further education, gap years, apprenticeships, student finance and writing outstanding UCAS personal statements. We were also delighted to welcome back a former UHS student, Doubra, who came in to talk about her charity work and volunteering abroad.
YEAR 11 PROM
The Year 11 prom was taken to a new location this year, a first for the school and students, which all of the students were very excited about.
They started their evening at school, where they were greeted with a red carpet arrival and balloon arch for a professional photo shoot. They then ventured into London via coach to Westminster Pier, where they then had their prom night on the MV London Belle party boat.
The students had an excellent time dancing the night away, but midway through the evening remembered to take a break to have something to eat. They were served a selection of delicious finger foods, which included an assortment of wraps, skewers, spring rolls, cake and lots more!
Later in the evening, the award for Prom King & Queen was announced and the winners were crowned as Yusuf and Tijana.
We were joined by professional photographer James Spicer who really captured the fun of the evening, and even managed to get a great photo of the whole group in front of the London Eye. Photos from the event can be viewed and purchased following the link below.
MAY BALL
The sixth form May Ball took place this year for the second time 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 joined again by James Spicer, a well-known and established photographer in London. Photos from the event can be purchased online using the link 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 – Ethan Ball
Academic award for achievement – Jefri Reci
Academic award for progress and effort – Charles Goodliffe
Governors' award – Zahida Ahmad
We are very proud of all of our students and hope they go on to achieve everything they hope for and more.
SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL
Uxbridge High School has now been an RSC Lead Associate School for two years, and was a member of the RSC Learning and Performance Network for three years prior to that. To celebrate all the amazing work we do and that our Associate Schools do, we held and Shakespeare Festival on our outdoor stage.
Whitehall Junior School, Hayes Park Primary School, Haydon School, Vyners School, Barnhill Community School and Harlington School all had been working on performances of Shakespeare and brought their students to share their performances at the festival. There was a variety of plays performed, including a devised piece based on The Tempest, the ‘Play within a Play’ from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, an abstract retelling of Macbeth and UHS students performed a shortened version of Othello, set within a modern police force. This performance from the UHS drama club was a particular highlight of the evening, with an excellent response from the audience.
UHS Shakespeare ambassadors ran stalls and games at the event, and these were very popular with the guests. There was a ‘hook-a-duck’ game where you had to guess whether the quote was Shakespeare or not, playdough Shakespeare, selfies with Shakespeare, face-painting and ‘ShakesVR’ where our VR headset and tablets explored the world of Shakespeare and the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon.
The evening finished with the performance of ‘The Seeds of Time’, performed by a company made up of students from seven schools. All had performed this piece at the RSC Playmaking Festival in Stratford-upon-Avon the week before, so it was brilliant to share this work with a home audience.
We had a full audience of many supporters from all our Associate Schools and each performing company enjoyed getting to see each other’s work. It was an excellent event that really celebrated all the work we do as an RSC Lead Associate School.
RSC PLAYMAKING FESTIVAL
Uxbridge High School, along with our Associate Schools performed a short version of Macbeth in a professional theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon as part of the RSC’s Playmaking Festival. We worked with Intermission Theatre and six of our Associate Schools to put the performance together. Whitehall Junior School, Hayes Park Primary School, Haydon School, Vyners School, Barnhill Community School and Acton High School all auditioned for three places in the company.
With a mixed group of 21 students, we met at UHS to start rehearsing our version of Macbeth – ‘The Seeds of Time’ which focused on the story of Banquo. We worked at creating effective characters and eerie atmospheres to show the story of Banquo, before and after his grisly death. We discussed the themes of friendship, betrayal and jealousy and this helped us see the story from Banquo’s point of view and develop his character. We then all met in Stratford-upon-Avon on the day of the performance and had an excellent time in our technical rehearsal, working with the professional backstage staff at the RSC. We also had a workshop with an RSC theatre practitioner that helped us develop our voices for the performance.
We had a full audience of many supporters from our schools and members of the public. We performed with two other groups of students, but our production was at the end. It was an atmospheric and engaging performance, with all students from all the schools working together to create an amazing experience for the audience. All students made firm friends and really enjoyed the process of working towards and performing a Shakespeare performance at the Royal Shakespeare Company. ‘We are such stuff as dreams are made on.’
ROMEO AND JULIET
UHS students will be performing in Romeo and Juliet at the Barbican Theatre from Friday 2nd November 2018 to Tuesday 20th November 2018 and tickets can be purchases now using the link below.
REWARDS
It's been a jam-packed term for rewards as we're reaching the end of our year at UHS. We've been out to KidZania, had afternoon tea with Years 7 & 8 and will be giving out our last few principal's commendations awards for the year. But most importantly, we've been on PGL!
60 of our best behaved students were taken out to Liddington in Wiltshire to enjoy a weekend of climbing trees, jumping into ponds and playing giant games of duck, duck, goose! It was an adventure that our students will never forget and we were so proud to show off our wonderful school to the whole team at PGL.
SUMMER ART AND MUSIC SHOW
Our summer art and music show was a real hit for our delighted audience. The Orsino building was in full swing for this new event in the calendar, with sensational student artwork on display and live music from students from Year 7 to Year 13, on the outdoor Orsino stage.
The vibrant, alluring art work was complemented by the high quality, energetic music performances. Helped along by plenty of tasty and stylish finger-food provided by our catering staff, the audience from across the UHS community were thrilled by the show, as was our guest music expert Doreen Lee, who picked out Year 7 student India Fawcett’s rendition of ‘2002’ by Anne Marie, as the winner of the highly commended award.
Congratulations to all the students whose art and music work made this lovely summer
event possible.
MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES
Success in the British German Association’s Youthbridge Awards!
For the first time, Year 10 students at Uxbridge High took part in an award scheme designed by the British German Association to promote the use and understanding of the German language. Three of the students whose work was entered won an award which included a certificate and a guide to Germany. The range of work was outstanding – ranging from informative and eye-catching posters and mood boards, a video diary of the school trip to Germany last year, to an attempt to make UHS teachers say German tongue twisters!
Congratulations to Elisia (1st Prize), Paige (2nd Prize) and Myra (3rd Prize).
Sehr gute Arbeit, Madels!
SCIENCE
Big Bang Fair
On 16th March, 48 Y9 and Y10 students and four science staff visited the Big Bang Fair held at NEC, Birmingham. The aim of this visit was to attend the UK Young Scientist and Engineer Big Bang Fair. The Big Bang Fair is an award-winning combination of exciting theatre shows, interactive workshops and exhibits and careers information from STEM professionals. It aims to show young people the exciting and rewarding opportunities available to them.
The group of students along with Mr Macan, Ms Purewal, Mr Pimentel and Ms Kaur set off at 7.30am from school. We arrived at the venue at 9.30am and were greeted by a friendly team and given identity badges along with the maps of the venue. During the day we visited over 50 interactive stands, shows and workshops such as ' Metabot' where students tried being medical engineers, using light to measure brain activity and see through their hands.
At 'Our Radioactive World' they also discovered and measured radioactivity in everyday objects, from brazil nuts to potassium rich bananas, see how naturally occurring radioactivity is found in the most unlikely of materials and how simple techniques are used to safeguard people who work with radiation. There were representatives from various universities who gave an insight into the endless exciting career possibilities that exist within science, technology, engineering and maths.
Our day finished with the stage show ‘Not at Christmas Lectures'– based on the world famous 'Christmas Lectures' from the Royal Institution. This 40-minute long show was a whistle-stop tour of the best bits, from superb slow motion to bouncing balloons, foam fountains and mind-controlled explosions. At 3.30pm we boarded the coach and on the journey back students shared their experiences through the day, proud of their prizes and badges they had won at various quiz shows and games.
Brunel
On Friday 23rd March, Year 13 biology students attended a hands-on demonstration of common molecular biology techniques at Brunel University, with the aim to develop an appreciation of the practice in the field of genetic engineering.
Students had a great time extracting chromosomal DNA from their own check cells; conducting an experiment using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and electrophoresis techniques. Students were really pleased to create a pendant containing their DNA to take home!
Spectroscopy in a Suitcase
On 16th April, a team from Imperial College London brought spectroscopy equipment for the A-level chemists.Both Y13 and Y12 students were able to have hands-on experience in analysing compounds using infra-red ,mass and NMR techniques which is a key part of the A - level chemistry course.
CERN
On 29th June,twenty two A -level students visited CERN labs in Geneva.The visit provided students with the opportunity to engage with science, technology and engineering that have influenced modern and contemporary practice in nuclear field related to the A/AS-- level courses. It offered students of physics, computing and engineering a unique opportunity to join in the day-to-day work of research teams participating in experiments at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland. Students also visited places of cultural interest such as the United Nations, International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum.
GEOGRAPHY
Docklands
68 Year 10 geography students enjoyed a day trip to the Docklands in East London. The trip's location directly linked to the students' GCSE Urban Regeneration unit which has a specific case study about an area of London that has changed over the years.
The students took part in a tour guided by Miss Charlebois around locations in the Docklands, specific to the regeneration of the docks, looking specifically at economical and environmental success of the area. They had the opportunity to ask questions and to collect primary evidence through environmental survey, bi-polar re-imaging assessment and footfall. The students also got to see visit the Docklands Museum to collect secondary data by looking at models, companies investment and objects from WW2 till present.
Year 12 trip to Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door
On Sunday 8th July, a small group of Year 12 students visited Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door as part of their data collection for their coursework. Three Year 12 students were privileged to attend this sunny trip to the Jurassic Coast.
Miss Charlebois acted as an experienced guide, providing in-depth local knowledge and taught students the origins of coves, fossils. Thank you to Mr Wolf for volunteering to drive the school minibus.
Students were given an insight into what it is like to be a physical geographer. They collected primary data on erosion in 3 different parts of a cove and looked at the formation of erosional coastal land-forms.
We stayed at the Lulworth Cove YHA and the colourful images on the doors got us talking. We were also privileged to eat in one of the best pubs of the area: The Lulworth Cove Inn, where some of us tried very fresh fish and chips. The students also had the chance to visit the Lulworth Castle to understand the history of the area. It was a great chance to become a short-time historian.
Year 7 Natural Hazards Competition
48 Year 7 geography students participated in the competition by making 3D models of volcanoes and earthquakes. The students made these models in their own time with a mixture of materials. The models were displayed to the whole school at lunchtimes on the 26th and 27th June.
More than 150 students participated in the competition to chose the following winners:
Original special mention: Emilie 7yTU
5th Place: Douglas 7yWI
4th Place: Angelia . 7YTU
3rd Place: Harrison 7yTU
2nd Prize: Lakeisha 7yTU
1st Prize: Kerry-Anne 7yTU
It was a huge success and students were presented with their prizes in their house assemblies.
READATHON
Readathon was launched in May and was very successful, with Year 7 & 8 students raising £203. The Student Council have decided to donate this money to Syrian refugee children and arrangements are being made to get this to a refugee camp over the summer break.
Thank you and well done Year 7 and 8 students!
A special well done to top fundraisers who have been awarded proud badges: Ricky, Charlie, Mahira, Balmeek, Haider, Molly, Valleo and Amina.
SPORTS NEWS
Rounders
Year 9 saw huge success reaching the borough finals, but it was the Year 10s who achieved the biggest accomplishment, winning the final and becoming the new borough champions.
Cricket
Years 7 boys enjoyed their first season of cricket representing Uxbridge High School, reaching the borough semi finals. They were also joined by the Year 8 and 9 boys who were also borough semi finalists, unfortunately just missing out on reaching consecutive finals.
NSSW
Our students enjoyed a hugely successful National School Sports Week, where they were fortunate to experience a full day on an inflatable assault course. They spent the rest of the week practising their zumba skills and enduring military boot camp fitness, with the aim of encouraging and inspiring our students to lead an active, healthy lifestyle.
Thank you to all of those that have helped with extra-curricular clubs this term and a huge well done to all of the students that have represented the school throughout the year!