Insight18 by Highgate Wood School

News from Highgate Wood School arts college

CONSIDERATION COOPERATION COURTESY CONTRIBUTION

Issue No 18

May 2014

GOVERNING BODY UPDATE The Chair of Governors, Charles Wright, writes: Exams are upon us, and good luck to all students at what is always a stressful time. Of course the summer holiday is in sight, and a welcome break after a long year. Before the break the Governing Body is focusing on finalising the School Development Plan for the academic year 2014/15. It's the blueprint for how Highgate Wood will seek to move forward over the year, consolidating the school's performance and targeting areas where more attention is needed. The key thing for us this year is to put some real meaning and substance into our mission statement: "making a positive difference to students' achievements and experiences, maintaining the highest expectations and inspiring self-belief". In practice this will mean looking closely at the support we give to all students so that everyone achieves to their highest potential, ironing out inconsistencies, and in particular improving the tracking of progress across Key Stage 3, including improving the quality and consistency of homework for this age group. The House system is already helping us focus on all students, so that we can give support where needed, at the right time, and we want to build on this so that we can aim even higher. We will also continue to look forward, considering the wider educational landscape and Highgate Wood's place within it - and even the possibility of a change of Government next year! We want to make sure that the school is positioned to make the most of all opportunities available, for the benefit of all our students. As ever, parents with particular issues or areas you think should be included in our forward planning can contact me via the school secretary. Have a great half term! Cover picture: The cover features our remarkable Leavers’ Assembly on Wednesday 21st May. Students dressed up in the most remarkable costumes, from a giant blueberry to a smurf, and from a priest to a perfectly attired Highate Wood School student (thanks Yunis!)

One date you must put in your diary is Saturday July 5th. This is the day for MADFest, the biggest PSA event in the school calendar. Already students are being auditioned for performance on the day, and the exhibitions are being planned. It is a major fundraiser for the school and allows us to provide a whole range of resources that would otherwise be impossible. Messages by text, email and on the website will soon start flowing on how you can best support the event. Please be ready to help!

HIGHGATE WOOD SCHOOL GOVERNING BODY Chair of Governors: Charles Wright (Community Governor) Vice Chair: Imogen Pennell (Representative Governor) Representative Governors: Cllr Eddie Griffith • Oliver Blackaby • Brenda Allan Parent Governors: Diana Brown • Philip Cavendish • Elizabeth Hess • Chris Tully • Rob White • Julia Chalfen • Paul Bennett Community Governors: Phil Cocksedge • Caroline Conlon • Violet HazelwoodHenry • Chris Parr • Headteacher Governor: Patrick Cozier Staff Governors: Audra Daws-Knowles • Emily Ford • Joe Demetriou If you wish to contact the Governing Body please write to the Chair of Governors, c/o Mrs K Ozturk, Highgate Wood School, Montenotte Road, London N8 8RN (koz@hws.haringey.sch.uk)

May 2014

MESSAGE FROM THE HEADTEACHER It’s May Already! Welcome to the May edition of Insight. As always you will find this issue full of information highlighting many of the achievements of our incredible students over the last few months. We hope that you will get a sense of the amazing range of activities and opportunities that our students benefit from at HWS thanks to our dedicated staff. There are also some important changes on the horizon that we will tell you more about during this edition. As ever, this is a very exciting time to be part of the HWS Community. Monday 2nd June – A Normal School Day I wanted to take this opportunity to remind parents/carers that we come back after half term on Monday 2nd June at the normal start time of 8.35am. At the start of the year, that day was in the calendar as an INSET day with the school closed to students. However, the decision not to roll the timetable until September means that we do not need that INSET day at that time. Post 16 Applications & Places Offered – An Update We are delighted with the record number of offers that we have been able to make for places in the 6th form. As you will be able to see from the table below; this builds on last year’s significant increase in popularity. Having been involved in the interviews personally, I know just how well our students presented themselves and I have been impressed with their maturity in discussing their futures. Looking at the last four years, we have good reason to be pleased. The table shows the pattern of offers that have been made to students interviewed for a place in the HWS 6th form over the last four years – including the current Year 11. The BLUE bars May 2014

represent offers for HWS Year 11 students. The RED bars show the number of places offered to students who are currently in other schools across Haringey and beyond... You can see that the number of places offered to Year 11 HWS students has increased over the last four years with a record number of 207 offers this year. This rise is accompanied by another eightyeight offers being made to Year 11s who currently attend other schools across Haringey and beyond; maintaining the school’s popularity in other schools. This confirms our feeling that HWS continues to be more popular both within and beyond Highgate Wood than in previous years and that more and more we are achieving one of our key aims of being the local school of choice. Importantly, and similar to the last two years, in order to deal with what we expect to be a high demand for places at the start of the autumn term, we have taken the decision to hold our first day of enrolment on Thursday 21st August – the day of the GCSE results. We anticipate that this will give HWS year 11s the first opportunity to secure places onto their choice of courses. We are very proud of our Year 11s, we have every faith in their ability to do well in their exams and we look forward to seeing a large number of them thriving in the 6th form from this September. Year 11 and Post 16 Students – Preparation for Exams Year 11 and Post 16 students have been working hard for weeks now in preparation for their public exams. In the last issue of Insight I shared with you 3

The reasons above are still very significant to us; and hence the importance of getting the uniform right remains a priority. It is noticeable that over the last few months, students have improved considerably in terms of having the appropriate uniform, and also in wearing it the way it is designed to be worn. That is credit to them. However, some aspects of the uniform have proved more problematic than others – for example, when we introduced the uniform skirt to reduce some of the problems with parents and girls being able to be the GCSE prediction for our Year 11s – showing that clear on what type of skirt is acceptable and what we expect to improve on last year’s excellent results. isn’t. It has worked well on the whole, although the The same is true of our Year 13 students as shown in rolling of the skirts around the waist continues to be an ongoing challenge… but we are getting there. the table above. We are confident that our Year 13s will do themselves and the school proud by achieving excellent results and more importantly securing their chosen university places for the Autumn term. Uniform – A Change for September 2014

The next pressing issue is that of footwear. We have tried to be flexible on the different types of footwear that can be worn to school by students – relaxing the initial rules on formal shoes to accepting more casual canvas style footwear like Keds, Converse and Vans. At the time, I felt that this was a positive move, but our experience has proved different. In short, our attempt to allow more flexibility has created greater confusion and a ‘blurring’ of the line between what the school deems appropriate and what it doesn’t.

Highgate Wood School has now had a uniform since September 2009. During that time we have strived to get the uniform right in terms of ensuring that we have a collective, visible school identity. Below is a reminder of the reasons why we changed from being As a consequence of this, and sticking to the original a non-uniform school to having a uniform five years principles of why we introduced a uniform, from ago. this coming September students will only be  Enhancing a sense of community, pride and allowed to wear formal leather (or leather-look) identity with the school shoes. More detail is written about this later in this  Contributing to the ethos of the school issue along with some visual images of footwear that is ok, and footwear that is not.  Setting a clear and visible acceptable tone of self presentation for school Please note that this change is for September, so  Increasing the level of security in the school as the current rules will apply for the rest of this academic year. We are notifying you now to ensure a protection against intruders that you have plenty of notice to decide and  Supporting positive behaviour organise the appropriate footwear for your child in  Protecting our young people from social time for September, when this rule will be enforced pressures to dress in a certain way rigidly.  Nurturing cohesion between different social and cultural groups across the school 

Reducing the financial pressure on parents and families to sustain the latest trends and fashions May 2014

Farewell to staff who are leaving (or who have left during the course of this half term) Ms Watkins is leaving at the end of this week to go on maternity leave, but has indicated that she will not be returning at the end of her maternity to be able to devote more time to her family. She has been an outstanding English teacher during her three years at HWS and she has spent much of her time supporting and coaching other teachers to develop and improve their practice – something she excelled at. She will be sorely missed by staff and students. Mr Williams is also leaving us this week to pursue a career as a teacher. He has been a magnificent support for our students in his current role since starting in September 2012. We are certain that he has all the qualities to become an excellent teacher. Mr Williams also played a very significant role in the extra-curricular life of the school, accompanying our students on many off site trips and residential visits. He will be a big loss to the Learning Support Department.

Ms Sanders has helped many children and their families integrate into the English school education system by supporting the development of their English language acquisition. She has really made a difference to the lives of many students in her time at the school and we know that those students in particular will miss her. We thank all of those members of staff for their significant contribution over the years and wish them the very best for the future. ... And Finally – Thank you for your support! I would like to thank you all again for your valued and continued support. I wish you and your families a pleasant half term break. Please remember, we return on Monday 2nd June at 8.35am. It will be Week 1.

Ms Sanders has left Highgate Wood after 12 years as the school’s EAL Coordinator to pursue new opportunities. During her many years at the school

Regards Patrick Cozier Headteacher

HOUSE LEAGUE TABLES

The best way to predict the future is to invent it

From caring comes courage

Success comes from perseverance

59,733

58,014

60,140

so far this year

Top Vivo Earners Rebecca Manoharan Luke Gosling Phoebe Berman Louise Johnson Esme Cavendish

Top Vivo Earners Freya Dougan Alexander Diaferia Madeleine Baron Odeja Anderson Keanu Greaves

Top Vivo Earners Euan Escott Elle-Mae Netherton Daniel Dop Florence Penfold Cassandra Penfold

May 2014

http://tiny.cc/mayhalfterm

HALF-TERM IN HARINGEY Haringey Council have produced a booklet (available at http://tiny.cc/mayhalfterm) listing a whole range of activities for young people over the half-term break. Most of them are free, with many not even requiring you to book. Many of the activities are for younger children, but there is also a number of events listed in Youth Space that could be great for students. BOOK CLUB: Teenage book club Fun session talking about a new book every month. Wednesday 28 May 5pm – 6pm FREE • 12 years + Alexandra Park Library, Alexandra Park Road, N22 7UJ 020 8489 8770 No booking required – just turn up

YOUTH CENTRES: Bruce Grove Youth Centre Drop in sessions with activities including football, table tennis, cooking, music technology, photography, hair and beauty, basketball, parkour and much more. Tuesday 27 – Friday 30 May 3pm – 7pm FREE • 11 – 19 years 10 Bruce Grove Tottenham London N17 6RA Contact : Mark Cullen 07971 309 334 No booking required – just turn up! Choices Drop In Service: is where young people can receive information, advice and guidance on a whole range of matters including sex and relationships, careers, housing, Drugs and Alcohol, Bullying and much more. Wednesday 28th May 2-5pm and Friday 30th May 2-5pm at Wood Green Library, N22 Tuesday 27th May at Project 2020 (Off Road) Kenneth Robins House, Northumberland Park, N17 1-5pm Thursday 29th Bruce Grove Youth Centre 2-4pm FREE • 11-19 yrs Contact: Lauren Schneider 020 84892456 Muswell Hill Youth Centre: Drop in sessions with activities including football, table tennis, basketball and art and crafts. Thursday 29 May 4pm – 7pm FREE • 11 – 19 years Muswell Hill Youth Centre, Hillfield Park N10 3QJ Contact: Mansingh Gujadhur 07973 244 044 No booking required - just turn up!

THE JUNCTION: Advice support and guidance for 11 – 19 year olds. Mondays and Wednesdays 2pm – 5pm Fridays 3pm – 6pm Contact: 0808 001 3219 or 020 8489 5200 www.youthspace.haringey.gov.uk No booking required – just turn up!

May 2014

SHOES FOR SEPTEMBER

Ms Allaway writes: We have seen an increasing range of different shoes being worn by students this year. Some simply breach the existing uniform code, but on other occasions it has been more of a judgement call and this has sometimes led to annoyance and upset. To avoid this continuing we need to be more explicit in what we consider to be suitable school shoes, and make it is clear as possible what is and what is not acceptable. From September 2014 the following code will apply, hopefully ensuring that arguments about footwear become a thing of the past, and all students are wearing shoes that offer appropriate grip and support whilst also being smart, formal and suitable for school.

HELP NEEDED FOR MADFEST!

Anne-Marie Lewis writes: Foxtons Estate Agents are sponsoring Madfest this year. In return we need to provide them with 70 addresses of people willing to have a Foxtons board outside their home. Details of the event with the Madfest logo and website will be displayed on a prominent strip on the boards (unlike last year!).

All school shoes need to be black leather (or leather-look).

Foxtons have sponsored this event in 2012 and the strips looked great. The boards will go up 6-9th June and come down on 7th July. 70 names doesn’t sound much but I have found in previous years that just acquiring 50 has been difficult to fulfil, so please consider this as an easy way to support the PSA fundraising efforts.

Boys’ shoes must be black, plain well supported and low heeled. All stitching and laces must be black and laces tied at all times. Trainer style shoes (even if they are black) are unacceptable, as are canvas gym/pump style shoes and “show off” designer labels, logos, piping and stripes.

If you are happy to have a board please email me your name, your full address with postcode and a contact telephone number - this will not be given to Foxtons but if there is any problem putting the board up (sometimes they cannot locate the house) I can call you.

Girls’ shoes must be black, plain and well supported with a low heel. They can be worn with fastened black laces, buckles or Velcro. Trainers or canvas gym/pump style shoes are not allowed. Most canvas slipper/ballet style shoes provide no support and are unsuitable for school.

My email is annemarielewis@sky.com. Please put “Madfest board 2014” in the subject area. To save time, I will not reply to your email unless you have a specific question. Many thanks for your help with this.

We will be putting more guidance on the school website (including some photographic examples) to help ensure that the message is clear. As with all issues around school uniform the final decision does rest with the Headteacher on what is the correct interpretation of the code.

May 2014

TENDER PROJECT - Transforming attitudes and combatting sexism

Elisabeth Jahn-Morrissey and Rosa Elson write: Two women a week are killed by their former partners in the UK alone and one in four will experience abuse in their lifetime. Rashida Manjoo, a UN special rapporteur on violence towards women, described the “boys’ club sexist culture” in the UK as the most “in your face” out of all the countries she has visited which include far more stereotypically “sexist” nations such as Somalia and Jordan, while the British branch of the Everyday Sexism Project (an online organisation where women can share their experiences) has already had well over 50,000 entries. It is up to the next generation to solve this problem. Over the past weeks, a group of year ten girls have been taking part in workshops arranged by Tender and Women and Girls Network designed to teach them what to do when in danger of, and/or experiencing, gender-based violence. Bursts of statistics such as the ones cited above have been interspersed with drama games to lighten the, I have to admit, sometimes dispiriting thoughts left over from more solemn activities. Yet, throughout the changing tones of interaction, there was always an unwavering theme of empowerment which I believe stayed with all of the students after they vacated the workshop. Over our various sessions, the group covered many kinds of gender violence ranging from culturalspecific forms such as FGM to the ones we in the group were most at risk of such as domestic

violence. Claire and Michelle, the organisers of the programme, approached the wide variety of topics with a uniformly delicate yet direct manner which engaged the students and encouraged them to share ideas and raise questions. Highgate Wood is undoubtedly a strongly bonded community, but the school nevertheless has a problem with sexism. Through the efforts of HWS staff and students, we have started to combat it, partly thanks to the work of volunteers in workshops such as this one. We have raised awareness, and now the challenge is to deal with the problem as quickly and efficiently as possible. Sexism isn’t an inevitable product of society, it is a prejudice and should be treated as such. As the grand finale to the workshop, the year ten girls performed a series of plays about abuse and its early warning signs before a group of year nine students. Everything ran smoothly and the year nines truly seemed to grasp the deep sentiment behind the various short stories while also contributing fresh ideas to the discussion and making their various opinions heard. Slowly but surely, this fairer attitude is being spread around the school and is making it a true haven for its students. We are, ultimately, the age group most at risk of gender based violence, and this workshop has and will help its participants (and the audience) in later life through the message that they are never alone and with the knowledge of where to seek help if the worst occurs. May 2014

YEAR 8s IN PENDARREN

PRACTICAL TALENT IN YEAR 11

Mr Williams writes: Monday the 17th of March saw the start of another classic Highgate Wood trip to Pendarren House in Wales, the second group of Year 8 students to go this year. Excitement was high after the incredible summer trip. The chosen few that went were not disappointed. As expected, all students showed grit, perseverance and determination in the face of adversity, pushing themselves to accomplish challenges that they previously would have balked at. Case in point was reaching the summit of Pen y Fan, the highest point in Southern Wales, where the weather ranged from “breezy” to “my hat blew away” over the course of the walk. Other activities included a river walk at Blaen y Glyn; coasteering at Caswell Bay; caving in Porth yr Ogof and orienteering in Coed Cefn woods. All students represented the school perfectly, helping each other over all obstacles that appeared. In the words of Daniela Ismaili: “At Pendarren I made new friends. I got to know people that I didn’t know before and got to know some of them better. As well as that, I got to have fun with them!” It was a genuine pleasure to get to work with this group of students in Pendarren. Watching them bond as a group and conquer their fears was a unique privilege. Pendarren offers an incredible opportunity to challenge students and staff alike and I would urge anyone who gets the chance to come here and experience it. May 2014

Ms Jones writes: I am delighted with the progress of our students on the Sustainability course. Year 11 have now completed their Foundation Course in Construction (part of the Workskills side of the course) and have received their certificates. Some of them have already been accepted to do L2 Construction at College and are hoping to progress from there. They have learned plenty of Employability Skills while doing the course, and they have also shown themselves to be skilful and talented in the tasks they have turned their hands to.

IMPROVE HANDWRITING & LEARN TOUCHTYPING Ms Fikret writes: Are there any students in Years 7 or 8 who would like to improve their handwriting or learn how to touch type? These are both critical life skills and will help you to be successful in school and later life. If you are interested, please come to our training sessions after school on Wednesday. Snacks are provided. If parents would like more information about these sessions please email me at tfi@hws.haringey.sch.uk 9

YEAR 7 CASTLE COMPETITION

Mr Holmes writes: This term Year 7 History students took part in the annual castle-building competition. Having learned about medieval castles last term, the students were given a homework project to research castles and then design and build their own model castles incorporating the features they had studied in lessons. Some students used their imaginations to produce their own versions of a medieval castle, whilst others produced accurate models of actual historic castles. Either way, the competition entries were fantastic showing both good historical understanding, and real effort and creativity in making the models. The winner was Jacob Gryn (7W); second place was Alex Harris (7T); and the runners-up were Zeynah Sarwar (7H), Isabel Pauntney (7H), Sophie Kimber (7W) and Sonny Hume-Paton(7E).

STUDENTS AT MET. SCHOOL OF COMPUTING

Mr Talbert writes: Eight A Level students visited London Metropolitan University for an afternoon taster session. They all got to learn about the School of Computing and the courses that the university have on offer. The students also experienced workshops in 2D computer animation and 3D computer games making. It was a valuable and informative afternoon for the students and help with their decision making for their university choices and their future careers.

SCHOOL WINS ATTAINMENT AWARD

We are delighted that Highgate Wood School has won an Specialist Schools and Academies Trust Educational Outcomes Award for high attainment for last yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s GCSE examinations. The award is to recognise our achievement of being in the top 20% of non-selective schools nationally for high attainment in the 2013 end of KS4 examinations. This is based on our studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; best 8 average point scores for both GCSE and GCSE with equivalents and has been calculated using the SSAT Educational Outcomes database, which brings together the latest DfE performance and contextual data and Ofsted gradings. May 2014

DISCOVER MUSIC WITH SCIENCE - SAMSUNG WORKSHOP

Mr Talbert writes: Thirty-one Year 8 students visited the Royal Albert Hall to participate in a Samsung sponsored workshop, “Discover Music with Science”. This trip was thanks to Samsung’s sponsorship of Highgate Wood school for the Apps for Good programme. Highgate Wood students were the first to experience the workshop and Samsung’s brand new digital classroom. During the workshop we learnt about music and sound in a fun and educational way with students at the end of the workshop having to create a rap about sound and science. There were also some funny moments with Armando Allan (8E) getting splashed with water while demonstrating how sound waves travel through water. It was a fun packed morning which all of the students truly enjoyed.

CAMBRIDGE UNI WITH PYN HARINGEY Max Aref-Adib writes: This term students from Highgate Wood School (Max Aref-Adib, Liliana Ricketts, Doris Daci, and Louis Kelly), Park View School, and Haringey Sixth Form embarked on a trip to visit the University of Cambridge as they considered their higher education options. The trip, which aimed to raise aspirations among the borough’s high-achieving students, was organised by Positive Youth News Haringey. We visited the colleges and halls and took part in some taster lessons. I found the trip to be a very enjoyable and valuable experience. Sadly many young people do not May 2014

consider it possible to go to such a prestigious University as Cambridge. They do not believe such places are open to those from places like Haringey. The trip helped me to see that it is. The trip was successful in giving us the option to spend the day at the university and break down that myth. 11

POETRY COMPETITION

Ms Wilson writes: Well done to all those Year 7 writers who handed in their poems about conflict, which have now gone off to Young Writers for their War of Words competition. We have some fantastic submission with students using a whole range of different poetic forms to express their thoughts about war, conflict, aggression and disagreements. The last competition entered (The Poetry Games) resulted in Kamille Johnson 7S receiving a letter from the Young Writers company, congratulating her on being in the top 12 of entrants in the country. We have just heard that Kamille’s poem has now been published in an anthology. Let’s hope there are other Highgate Wood School poets who do as well with this event.

LANGUAGE STARS Ms Lacroix writes: Every month the teachers in Modern Languages nominate one of their students to be Stars of the Month because excellent work and progress in French or Spanish. Ms Booth nominates Basil Benoiton (11T) for excellent participation and enthusiasm. Ms Mayer nominates Isobel Murray (8G) for excellent homework and class participation. Ms Johnson nominates Harry West (9A) for a fantastic improvement in work and effort. Ms Clyne nominates Afsun Ozdemir (8W) for being so helpful to her peers and having a great attitude to learning. Ms Gomez nominates Tommy Pegler (9E) for consistently demonstrating a responsible and mature attitude towards learning and Ms Lacroix nominates Maya Eagles (8T) for a fantastic piece of work for our penpal project. 12

BARCELONA SPORTS TRIP

Mr Goldberg writes: Over half term Mr Adams will lead a ten strong team of teachers 95 students from Years 8, 9 and 10 to the sunny Platja d’Aro on the Costa Brava. Based 100km north of Barcelona, the 56 boys and 39 girls will participate in training sessions and matches against English schools in netball and local teams in football. Excursions to the Nou Camp where we will have a tour of the stadium, a water park in Lloret de Mar and an evening spent in central Barcelona are other elements that will make this trip even more memorable. The hotel we will be staying in is the Comtat Sant Jordi, located stones’ throw away from the rugged Costa Brave coastline. The sub-tropical Mediterranean climate will make playing conditions harder for our boys and girls; however, with the pre-Barcelona Tuesday morning fitness sessions and after school training over the last four weeks, they are well prepared to take on whatever is put in front of them. A full report of the trip will be included in the next issue of Insight. May 2014

REFLECTIONS FROM YEAR 11

Ms El-Damanawi writes: This term has seen our young and eager Year 9s beginning their GCSE Science journey. Whilst they are smoothly introduced to the nature of DNA and get the opportunity to extract their own, our more mature year 11 cohort enter their final leg of revision for the course. This week we asked them to look back on the course and share their insights. Here are their messages to the new cohort: ‘Science is a subject that will give you a new insight as to how things work, the harder it becomes, the better.’ Joshua Wayoe ‘Be the nerd of the class – forget the others – because you will be the ones with the great GCSEs.’ Renee Lamy ‘You learn things which you never thought would be around us. Every lesson, you learn something new, something special. As long as you want to learn there is no reason for you to not get an A*, just revise and be keen to learn.’ Diyar Sigirtmac ‘Science will blow your mind, with the most explosive lessons.’ Sean Walsh ‘Don’t think about science as work – let it amaze and inspire you.’ Montana Cameron ‘Write notes as you go along, and revise them.’ Celia Cassidy

May 2014

‘Science is a very interesting subject, so work hard, focus because it gets harder but much better.’ Ulysses Robb-Price ‘May the odds be ever in your favour.’ Matthew Mulcahy

LARGEST DINOSAUR EVER!

Elliot Austin writes: Dinosaur experts in South America believe they have found bones belonging to the biggest and heaviest dinosaur to have ever walked the Earth. A local farm worker first stumbled on the remains in the desert on the west coast of Argentina. The fossils were then dug up by a team of experts from the Museum of Palaeontology. Based on its huge thigh bones - which are the length of a fully grown man - the dinosaur was 40m long and 20m tall - the same height as a seven storey building. It would have weighed the same as 14 elephants. Scientists believe it is a new species of titanosaur an enormous plant eating dinosaur that would have lived on earth around 95 million years ago. 13

HISTORY COMPETITION

DANCE MOVES

Ms Harding writes: For the fourth year in a row the History Department have been running the Historical Association’s Historical fiction competition for Year 8. All Year 8 students had to research a topic and then write an exciting story about a fictional character living during that period. The HA are particularly looking for a convincing setting in a past time and place. It was extremely difficult to choose just three stories from the more than 220 entries we received. The standard was extremely high, and every single story had its own unique merits. The history department would like to thank all the students who took part and worked so hard to produce some great pieces of writing. We finally did come to a decision and chose, Joseph Nguyen, (8A), Neil Lavie-Driver, (8D) and Holly ConroyHouse, (8D). Many congratulations to these three finalists. The winners will be announced by the Historical Association by the end of June. The History Department have done very well with this competition in the past. Two of our students have won the competition twice in the last four years. We hope to enjoy similar success with the fantastic entries this year.

Ms Harvey writes: Everyone knows how important it is to exercise and keep healthy and over the last half-term we have been working with some students to see how well that can be done through dance, rather than PE. The results have been pretty impressive. Those involved have not only improved their energy levels and physical dexterity. They have also found dance to be a great way to express themselves and to deal with anxieties and worries. It also turns out that we have some great hidden talents amongst the student body at Highgate Wood School. Some great dancers in the making!

LEARNING HOW WE LEARN Mr Pateman writes: At the end of April, a group of Year 13 English Language students visited Coleridge Primary School to gain an insight into how children learn to read and write. It was a great opportunity to link the theoretical knowledge of Language Acquisition with the day-to-day realities of school learning. Ijes Marshall, who studies Child Language Acquisition, shares her experience: In the morning we observed children learning how to write. The main focus was on how to hand-write letters such as ‘h’. It was interesting to see how the teacher used a variety of different methods, such as the interactive whiteboard and a technique using 14

imaginary spray cans – the children practice drawing with their arms in the air. We also got the opportunity to read one-to-one with students and we used a selection of reading scheme books, which have been carefully selected to develop vocabulary. Besides helping assist the children with handwriting and reading, we also had the opportunity to get involved with other fun activities such as painting, clay models and fancy dress!

May 2014

PEN PALS IN FRANCE

FRENCH VISITOR

Ms Lacroix writes: Since the beginning of the year students have been involved in a penpal exchange with children from Besancon, the capital of the Franche-Comté region of eastern France, close to the Swiss border. Students in Year 8 who have been involved in the project have thoroughly enjoyed it. Khem Inglesis thinks it’s a brilliant idea which could be expanded even beyond Modern Foreign languages. Many letters and postcards have now been exchanged. Recently we have done a project about our own cultural traditions, and about how Easter is celebrated in different areas. Students have written either in English or in French depending on the skills required and the purpose of the task. But whichever language they use the students have all found their confidence improving, and also their ability to communicate and work with other people from a slightly different background. May 2014

In May we welcomed Julien from Lycée Victor Hugo in Besancon. He was making a quick visit to London, his first time here, and used it as an opportunity to visit Highgate Wood School. He came in at lunchtime to spend an hour with his pen-pal. Julien was astonished by our facilities, and also by the school uniform. He issued an open-invitation for his penpal to return the visit by coming to his school in France 15

YEAR 10 WORK EXPERIENCE This term we released 240 of our Year 10 students out into London to experience the world of work. Placements ranged from working in the Media department for Macmillan Cancer Research (Amelia Jordan-Wass), spending the week working in the office of Lynne Featherstone (Berivan Korkmaz) to travelling with a local primary to work at Pendarren Outdoor Centre in Wales (Zoe Hutchings and Imogen Sheppard). The students represented the school brilliantly and it was wonderful to see them make the most of the opportunities and challenges they had over the course of the week!

GCSE EXAMS DATE

Morning exam

Monday

Turkish Music

2nd June

Tuesday 3rd June

Wednesday 4th June

“An excellent all round student worked well and showed interest and initiative” Armarni Babb at LBH Smarter Travel “Both students were hard workers and quick learners, they were able to work as a team and carry out tasks independently. Very bright and positive students; it was a pleasure working with them. They did the school proud.” Christina Broomes and Keja Pollard at Boots Opticians

Monday 9th June

Tuesday 10th June

Wednesday 11th June

Thursday 12th June

Friday 13th June

Monday 16th June

“Excellent work ethic and a real asset during the visit” Morgan Mellows at Electoral Reform Service

Thursday

“We would employ him in the future – he was great!” Louis Kelly at Bucks New Library

Monday

“Monique warmed to the team and worked really well” Monique Christopher at Martin Redstone Associates “Excellent worker who showed commitment and enthusiasm all week.” Marilyn Fynn at 101 Playgroup

Psychology Food Tech

ECS

Dance Science BTEC

5th June

6th June

“I am delighted with the set of images Charlie produced , he is obviously a very talented photographer and understood exactly what was required” Charlie Walker at Bruce Castle Museum

English

Thursday Friday

Biology

Maths Psychology Resistant Mats.

Chemistry

Media Studies

Physics

Psychology

Maths

Biology

Chemistry

19th June

23rd June

Afternoon exam

Physics

Statistics

Good luck with your remaining exams. Remember to relax as well as revise. Try and get a good night’s sleep, and remember to eat breakfast. Be as prepared as you can be. You have been shown lots of ways to help you revise. Use them, and try not to panic. Do your best and be proud!

May 2014

What the students said:

YEAR 10 SKI TRIP

“J'adore le ski. C'etait fantastique” Martin “The hotel was good and we had lots of free time to spend with everyone. However the skiing was also great, and the snow was nice.” Imogen

Ms Howard writes: On 22nd April 46 Year 10 GCSE PE and French students went to Alpe D’Huez to learn how to ski and to practice and develop their French. After an early start, we arrived at the resort to be greeted by fresh snow, it couldn’t have been a better start. That evening everyone got their skis, boots and poles ready to hit the slopes the following morning after a good nights’ rest. The first morning was certainly a steep learning curve accompanied by some pretty tough weather conditions, but by lunchtime everyone had already completed a couple of runs and the buzz and excitement was clearly evident. Over the following six days, the sun came out and the students continued to develop their skiing skills and love for the sport. Many were making rapid progress and using parallel turns by the end of Day Two. There was also some impressive falls and incidences with button lifts! On the last day, with confidence riding high, the students took to the jumps, catching some impressive air and even a couple of 180°’s. The students also took part in team challenges every night, including quizzes, bum boarding races, and the ultimate bin bag challenge….some clearly showing off their fashionista sides. Alongside this, students eagerly took part in the chance to use their French speaking and listening skills with the French instructors and also in the local area. They also took the opportunity to fully embrace French culture by trying some snails and frogs legs on the last night, which was such an exciting new experience for so many.

May 2014

“The snow was great for skiing and the activities in the evening were fun. Also, the rooms were big and very comfortable.” Rowan. “We had a fantastic time skiing although there has been a lot of face planting into the snow. The silliest crash is held by Lillia who fell into a ditch backwards.” Patrick “Skiing is so much fun, and the slopes are great! Despite constantly falling over it is amazing. The evening activities are also great, especially bumboarding!“ Faye “I like skiing. Skiing is fun.” Ethan “Good way to spend my birthday, really enjoyed my time on the slopes. Slowly getting used to the French ski instructors!” Charlie “The instructors are hilarious! The whole skiing thingy is amazing and there are a tons of icicles everywhere. It's like winter wonderland.” Martha “The instructors were very helpful and I learned so much during the week, it was an amazing experience and I would love to come back, the atmosphere was awesome and the hotel was epic.” Sam

Mr Astrop writes: On Tuesday 22nd May over 200 students and their families attended the 2014 GCSE Visual and Practical Arts Exhibition in the Wren building. The show featured student work form Media Studies, Food Technology, Art and Design, Resistant Materials and Textile Technology. The atmosphere was fantastic and visitors praised the quality of the work and our students' hard work and dedication. On the art side visitors were treated to some excellent photography by Rubell Ahmed, Emily Mort and Celia Cassidy (there are two classes of AS Photography starting next year, double this year's number), a superb self portrait by Blue Weiss and an amazing paper ship by Clara Greiphan-Culshaw. Alexandra Horton created a vibrant green man from plants. Maya Schamroth Rossade made a shadow play piece carefully constructed in its own environment. Freya Everest worked in the darkroom creating a compelling animation and Gazel Guvenc made an exciting optical illusion work, combining a sense of depth by combining drawing and photography. This has been another fantastic year for us, the great work and the achievement just keeps on coming.' Among comments from the visitors were, 'superb work,' 'such imagination,' 'well done everybody.'

ART AND DESIGN

Elena Baldwin

Lola Lillitos

May 2014

MEDIA STUDIES

Molly Bassett

Ms Daws-Knowles writes: Esme Pembury Smith and Emily Mort were awarded “Best in Show” for Year 11 Media Studies at the GCSE Visual and Practical Arts Exhibition (screen shot above). Their music videos as well as all of their other coursework received top marks for each class. They each displayed flair and creativity throughout their two years studying this subject as well as excellent attitudes to learning at all times. Nicholas OrfordWilliams and Jamie Taylor-Goff also received awards for their wonderful contributions and tireless effort to improve and succeed in this subject. We are really proud of all of our students’ hard work. They have researched, analysed and produced fabulous media texts throughout the course. We look forward to seeing lots of our 2014 Media Stars in AS Media Studies next year.

Maya Schmroth Rossade

Gazel Guvenc May 2014

RESISTANT MATERIALS

Mr McDonagh writes: The Design and Technology department was once again delighted to display the fruits of its labour at GCSE at the Visual and Practical Arts exhibition. Resistant Materials , Food Technology and Textiles Technology were all represented by work of the highest order. On show was work that amply demonstrated our students creative ability and technical accomplishment. Thanks must go to the technical support staff in the department who facilitated the students ambitious work. Namely Ruth Robertson, Sandy Rowe and Kevin Nairn.

TEXTILES TECHNOLOGY Mr Brown writes: Thank you to all the hard work from our textiles students this year. We had two large groups adding up to 41 students in total all having to fit into a very over crowded W2 textiles room. As usual we had some amazing designs and final products completed and I feel sure that our GCSE results at textiles will once again be very good.

Highgate Wood school now offers GCSE students the opportunity to carry their textiles studies into AS and A Level. Our first AS group have just completed their first year and with the help of the dedicated teachers and our inspiring and extraordinarily dedicated textiles technician Ms Robertson, also produced some excellent projects 20

May 2014

The HWS Young Masterchefs – Class of 2014

Ms Went writes: The last practical has been cooked, the ‘i’s dotted and the ‘t’s crossed on the Food Technology GCSE coursework. Now all there is left to do is nail the exam. 11M/Fd, otherwise known as Abdi, Rahmat, Abena, Basil, Dorrell, Tess, Thomas, Miles, Renee, Lyndon, Sacha, Michael, Matthew, Luke Q, Luke S, Darien, Dean, Lois and Alex, have (almost without exception) worked their socks off this year. With the highly valued support of Ms Siad and Joel Augustus they have researched, trialled and developed delicacies from across the globe in order to produce their controlled assessment course work

May 2014

portfolios, which represent 60% of their final GCSE grade. Sandy (our Food Technician) and I have had the great pleasure of sampling authentically cooked and flavoured dishes from the Caribbean, Mexico, France, Italy, Germany, Thailand and China (completely disastrous for our waistlines) and thoroughly enjoyed participating in the journey undertaken by our students to hone and perfect their cooking skills. The students that arrived in June 2012 have transformed themselves (with a little help from us) into focussed, independent, well organised and skilled cooks (they are pretty good at washing up as well!). But now we have to release them back into the wild!! It really has been a pleasure and a privilege to teach this group and we, in Food Technology, would like to wish them the very best of luck with the exam on Tuesday 3rd June and in all their future endeavours… and carry on cooking.

Whether it was because the sun was shining, or because this is the first Year 11 group who have always had to wear the Highgate Wood School uniform or maybe it was simply because of the sort of people that make up the extraordinary Class of 2014, but we have never seen a Leaversâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Assembly Day that was quite like this one. Here are a small selection of the fantastic costumes that were worn on that now famous day in Highgate Wood School history: Wednesday 21st May 2014.

May 2014

PHOTOGALLERIES AVAILABLE http://tiny.cc/hwsleavers2014 A slide show of some of the photographs taken on Leaversâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Assembly Day is already available on-line. We will be developing the gallery as we get more photographs from the day. We will also be building new photogalleries for the Class of 2014 to include their Celebration Evening on 20th June. May 2014

School starts again on Monday 2nd June 2014

at 8:35am It will be Week 1 Monday 2nd June

Term Starts

Monday 16th June Thursday 26th June

Mid Key Stage 4 Examinations

Friday 20th June

Year 11 Celebration Evening

Friday 27th June

Sports Day

Monday 30th June

New Year 7s Parents Evening

Tuesday 1st July

New Year 7s Transition Day

Saturday 5th July

MADFest

Friday 18th July

End of Term

AUTUMN 2014

SPRING 2015

SUMMER 2015

Mon 1st September

Term Starts

Mon 5th Jan

Term Starts

Tues 13th April

Term Starts

27h Oct - 31st Oct

Half term break

16th Feb– 20th Feb

Half term break

25th—29th May

Half term break

Friday 19th Dec

Term Ends

Friday 27th March

Term Ends

Friday 17th July

Term Ends* * Term ends for students

The school calendar is available on-line at www.hws.uk.com

Keep informed Find out what is going on at Highgate Wood School and keep up with our news visit us at our website www.hws.uk.com follow us on twitter twitter.com/highgatewood Check the school’s opening status Call 02084087508 and give the school’s DfE code: 3094030

Insight is available on-line at www.hws.uk.com