From the Headteacher

It has been another busy week at school. We held our first ever “Sustainability and Eco Week”, with the students being challenged to consider how we can become even more eco-friendly. We will report more fully on the activities in next week’s newsletter. Year 7 students attended a road-safety play; Sixth Form art students visited the London Sea Life Centre and we welcomed a number of colleagues from industry to conduct business interviews with our Year 10 students.

A real highlight of the week was the success of the Year 10 football team, winning the U15 County Cup final for the very first time (as Isleworth & Syon School).

Well done to all the boys who represented the team over the course of the tournament.

Term finishes next Friday 1 April. Full attendance is expected on the day, as lessons 1 to 3 will take place as normal with the students leaving for the Easter break at 12.30pm.

Thank you for your ongoing support and I wish you well for the weekend and week ahead.

Euan Ferguson

Free School Meals – Information

Vouchers for £18 (£3 per school day) will be issued on Saturday 2 and Saturday 9 April. Please look out for an email from Evouchers.com. If you have any problem accessing the voucher, you can contact support@evouchers.com.

If you are eligible for free school meals, please do take up the offer, even if you do not want your child to eat at school. You will still get a holiday voucher and other opportunities (see below). In addition, the school receives additional funding for each student claiming free school meals. If you wish to apply, please do so here.

Hounslow Swimming Club is offering free swimming or water safety sessions. Please see this flyer for further information.

You can also learn more about Hounslow’s Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) Programme which has a range of activities and events over the Easter holiday.

Safeguarding Updates

Headlines about school cultures include ongoing national press accounts of sexual harassment against women and girls. These accounts are deeply alarming, especially as it appears young people around the country do not feel they are able to come forward and speak to school staff. Schools should be safe places and we are wholly committed to this as an institution.  

We are profoundly proud of the really strong culture of welfare that we have fostered in school. Like all schools, though, we recognise the need to do everything possible to ensure the thoughts, behaviours, and attitudes of our students do not normalise or trivialise unacceptable language or behaviour. Crucially, this includes sexualised language and sexualised behaviour. 

Throughout this year via school assemblies, PSHE (Personal, Social, Health and Economic) education lessons, and Study Support sessions, students have been taught about the importance of speaking out and seeking support if they are concerned about such matters.

If you have a concern about the safety or welfare of your or another child, please email the safeguarding team at safeguarding@isleworthsyon.org.

Emergency Funding – Final Reminder

The local authority is making funding available to support Hounslow families, who meet certain criteria, in these challenging financial times. Please see the previous newsletter for more details. Applications must be made before 31 March 2022.

KS4 Courses

Just a reminder that the deadline for Year 9 students to submit their choices is Friday, 25 March. More information here.

Invigilators

We are looking for Exam Invigilators to join our school. You will be employed on a casual basis to supervise students in mock and external examinations throughout the school year.

The hours are variable; morning sessions begin at 8.00am and afternoon sessions typically finish at around 3.30pm. You will need to be reliable and punctual and have good communication skills both verbal and written, including spoken fluency and accuracy in English.

For further details, read the full Job Description and how to apply here.

Word of the Week

The word of the week for next week is “inherent.

COVID-19 Updates

We are seeing another surge in cases of COVID-19 with yet another variant now causing new infections. We encourage all members of the school community to take up the offer of a vaccination both to preserve health and prevent spread.

  • Information about the local vaccination programmes can be found here.
  • For a first or second vaccination, or a booster, you can book online here.

Drop Offs/Pick Ups and Parking Near Academy Place

Just a further reminder to the few parents/carers who persist in parking on double yellow lines around the school. Please do resist the temptation, obey the law, and show common courtesy to other road users and pedestrians. Thank you for your support.

News

County Cup Win – Year 10 Football

Congratulations to the Year 10 squad who won The Blaxland Trophy, the cup awarded by Middlesex Schools’ FA, to the best county under-15 team of the year. The team had a narrow and hard-fought victory over Nower Hill High School at the Rectory Park football grounds in Ruislip, eventually winning 4-1 on penalties after the game ended 2-2 in normal time.

The cup was first awarded in 1933, but we had not won it since Syon School for Boys did so in 1969-70. This was before the merge with Isleworth Grammar School in 1979. Rest assured, the cup is being rushed to the engravers to make sure our name is recorded for all to see. The cup will take pride of place in the trophy cabinet for the next twelve months.

Year 10 Interviews – Industry Visitors

We were very pleased to welcome ten business partners into school this week through our collaboration with the charity, SPARK. The colleagues from Allianz, Harrison Clarke and Barclays supported students in two of our Year 10 classes by conducting workplace interviews. The students had a 20-minute session and were challenged to explain their ambitions for the future. The interviewers were very impressed with our boys, with a number of them being offered work experience placements, an additional bonus from the session.

A Level Art Trip

Mr Carpenter took 12 A level art students to the Sea Life Centre on London’s South Bank last Friday. The main aim of the trip was to use photography to gather resources for use in their work. London’s sites gave much inspiration for these students, and they came back knowing that their projects would be greatly enhanced!

EPQ Presentations

Several Sixth Form students opt to study an EPQ alongside their other studies. The extended project qualification is an opportunity to undertake an independent research task of about 5,000 words on a topic of the student’s choosing.

Our Year 13 students presented their research last week to an invited audience of Year 9 and Year 10 students. The topics presented ranged from ‘player safety in rugby’ to ‘which is the fairest voting system to use in general elections’. One of the candidates even wrote their own short story!

Hopefully, the younger students have been inspired to follow in their footsteps.

Comic Relief

Last Friday also saw our latest fundraising appeal, for Comic Relief. A number of activities took place in school, including a fiercely fought University Challenge competition featuring staff versus students! Students took part in a treasure hunt around school and could also raise money via red nose purchases or cash donations.

Sixth Form Scientists

Our Year 12 biology students attended a Year 10 science lesson this week to give some support to the practical lesson on the dissection of the heart. One of the younger students noted that the Sixth Formers were “really helpful, he taught me a lot”.

Alumni News

It was a delight to see former student and now Coventry University scholar, Delaine Bedward-Gittens (2012-2018), being selected to represent England Universities Rugby League this week. Congratulations Delaine and go well in the internationals ahead. Delaine can be seen receiving his international shirt from former Leeds Rhinos player Jamie Jones-Buchanan MBE.