Insight33

Half-termly news from Highgate Wood School Issue No 33 December 2016

MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR OF GOVERNORS As the year draws to a close I would like to offer my congratulations and those of the other governors to the staff and students of the school following the recent Ofsted inspection.

Highgate Wood continues to be a “good” school and improving.

The inspector noted that “You, leaders and governors know the school well. Your evaluation of the school’s performance and strategies put in place are accurate and appropriate, allowing leaders and staff to continue raising standards quickly. As a result, teaching is good and improving as are behaviour and attendance.”

The inspection also praised the pupils’ outcomes at GCSE and A Level. This is only achieved as a result of a great team effort, and I would like to thank all staff, parents and carers and students for creating an environment in which students can thrive, realise their potential and feel safe and valued. I am biased but I regard the school as outstanding and I look forward to the continued success of HWS being recognised as such.

It has been a long half term and away from the rigours of inspection school life continues as normal.

For year 7 parents it’s a time to reflect on their children’s progress to date; finding their feet, new relationships, new subjects and learning styles. For those still adapting the next term is easier and the break allows time to re-charge the batteries. In the meantime the school community is in the middle of the seasonal highlight that is the Winter Concert. I hope you’ve been able to get a seat to what is one of the great HWS cultural events.

The governing body met last week and we work hard to support the staff as they plan and develop the strategies that maintain the school’s ethos and outcomes. As many of you are aware, central government continues to make far reaching policy decisions on the nature of secondary education nationally. Whatever decisions are taken, our responsibility is to make sure the school can deliver everything it sets out to achieve and more. We will continue to do this in 2017. In the meantime we wish the staff, students and parents a very happy and relaxing festive holiday.

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We are looking forward to seeing parents and carers at forthcoming events next term—The PSA meeting with the RAP project on 2nd February and the Quiz Night on 27th March. In the meantime we wish you all a very happy Christmas break and a healthy and happy New Year.

Don’t forget easyfundraising.org.uk.

Visit www.easyfundraising.org.uk/hwspsa

HIGHGATE WOOD SCHOOL GOVERNING BODY Chair of Governors: Chris Tully LA Governor: Cllr Eddie Griffith Parent Governors: Manjeet Bains • Mark Harber • Mano Manoharan • Craig Perry • Sally Watson Co-opted Governors: Oli Blackaby • Phil Cavendish • Phil Cocksedge • Joe Demetriou • Phil Dileo • Violet Hazelwood-Henry • Elizabeth Hess • Chris Parr • Imogen Pennell • Charles Wright Headteacher Governor: Patrick Cozier Staff Governors: Emily Ford 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 Or email: governors@hws.haringey.sch.uk Front cover : Winter Concert This is an image taking by Maddy Baron as students prepared for the Winter Concerts.

On the centre pages of this edition of Insight you will see their names listed, together with some photographs from the concerts themselves.

A larger collection of concert photographs will be made available on the school website.

Issue 33

December 2016

MESSAGE FROM THE HEADTEACHER Welcome to the last Insight of 2016.

Much has happened since I last wrote to you in October as you will see when you read through this edition. What you will see is that the achievements of our students, supported by my excellent staff continue to create magical moments and positive experiences that really sum up what Highgate Wood School is all about.

We also had very recent confirmation from the Department for Education (DFE), in the form of their latest data release that we are continuing to do really well as a school. The data shows that our students are making better progress in their learning than ever. I explain this in more detail later.

You will also be aware of the visit of Ofsted earlier this term. We are really pleased with the outcome of the visit as it confirms what we have always been confident about at Highgate Wood School; that we continue to be a good and improving school.

Thank you to all those parents who submitted their extremely positive views of the school on Parent View. It was reassuring to know that so many of you hold the school in such high regard and that you feel that your children thrive and do well here.

More detail on this later.

currently attend Highgate Wood School and students from across Haringey (and beyond). On the evening we gave out around 500 information packs which is a significant volume. This is a testament to our growing reputation locally. I am proud that more and more we are considered by our community as the local school of choice.

We are keen as ever to have as many of our Year 11 students remaining here as possible. However, this is not a given, since the expectations are high and only those students who achieve the grade criteria for entry to the Sixth Form and those of specific subjects will be allowed to enrol in the summer. For those who don’t quite achieve this or for whom an alternative pathway of study is more desirable, we will ensure as always that we give top class careers guidance and advice so that those students get onto the right courses with the right providers.

For those who can, we believe that staying at Highgate Wood School represents a very good and positive decision based upon: 

Our belief in the seven year commitment that the school has to all of its students that tracks their education, growth and progress from year 7 to year 13. We see Post 16 as a natural continuation of the learning that takes place in Key Stage 4 for those students who achieve the demanding grades required to enter the Sixth Form.



The benefits of remaining at a school that students know, but more importantly a school that knows them; where their teachers know their strengths and how to build upon them; where their teachers are aware of their areas for development and will not allow these to be overlooked or left unchallenged – our standards and expectations of our Sixth Form students are high.



Remaining at a school where they have made good progress, knowing that progress in our Sixth Form is further accelerated according to all national benchmarks and measures.



The knowledge that teaching in the Sixth Form is of a high quality.

Post 16 Open Evening – the natural route from Year 11 into the 6th Form We held our Post 16 Open Evening earlier this term for all current year 11 students (and some year 10s) and their parents to come and view the school and find out why our students do so well and make progress in line with the top 10% of post 16 providers nationally. I was again thrilled with the number of people that attended the event – particularly the mix between students who Issue 33

December 2016

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

The wide (and growing) range of opportunities available to our students at post 16 to experience leadership roles and responsibilities and to ‘give something back’ to the school community that has helped develop them.



A belief that our Year 11s are very much a part of HWS and HWS a part of them... a partnership and relationship that is beneficial to all during A’ level study at post 16.



Knowing that at HWS, our students benefit from teachers who really do care about them and will go the extra mile to support them throughout their studies and beyond onto a wide range of high quality courses at the best universities.

One of the most important things to emerge out of the evening is the clarity that our Year 11s now have about the expectations of them in terms of securing a place in the 6th Form. For every student that wishes to secure their place they must: 1. Work really hard between now and the summer exams to secure the very challenging grades necessary to gain access to our Post 16 courses – for many students there is now a realisation of just what it will take to secure their place.

2. Understand that not everyone will be offered a place. The days of Highgate Wood Sixth Form being a ‘reserve option’ are long gone – a significant number of students missed out on places that they wanted to enrol on last year because they thought winning a place in our sixth form would be automatic.

3. Be committed to doing their absolute best in the Sixth Form which includes taking full responsibility for their learning, making learning their first priority and ensuring excellent attendance and punctuality to all lessons/study sessions.

4. Ensure that they continue to make a positive contribution to HWS as a positive reference from their tutor or their head of house is also a pre-requisite for entry.

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We will have, early in the New Year, a whole series of activities for Year 11 students which are designed to give them all a taste of what to expect in the Sixth Form and to aid the choices that they will have to make. I look forward to yet again being involved in the interview process and look forward to seeing our very successful Year 11s here in August 2017 at enrolment.

Impressive Exam Results and Students Making Excellent Progress At Post 16…

We are pleased with the improvement levels of attainment at Post 16 that we have seen at Highgate Wood School. You can see from the table below that we have improved every year over the last few years, and we are confident that this coming year we can do even better!

A LEVEL (and equivalent)

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

% A* - C

78%

% A* - E

98% 100% 100% 100% 100%

83%

83%

2015

2016

A* - A

33%

51%

A* - B

57%

70%

A* - C

83%

90%

Top 10% of all schools (on value added performance)

83% 90%

Average grade B

In addition, we also know that the progress that our students make from the end of GCSE to the end of post 16 study compares favourably with most of the local alternative providers.

At GCSE… The new statistics released by the DFE recently confirmed that Highgate Wood has remained among the top schools in the country according to the progress that students make at GCSE.

Issue 33

December 2016

Our Progress 8 score is 0.26 which demonstrates that students at Highgate Wood School make better than expected progress at GCSE. We are particularly pleased that, with the emphasis very much on progress, that we have continued to do so well.

Even by the previous measure of Value Added, our students made excellent progress over the last four years, so we see this Progress 8 result very much as a continuation or how well our students have been doing over a significant period of time.

The table below shares some of the highlights: Sig+ Top 10% Sig+ Not top 10% Sig- Not bottom 10% Sig- bottom 10%

All students

Disadvantaged students

HWS Cohort

234

92

HWS Score

0.3

0.1

Confidence +/-

0.1

0.2

Low Attainers

Mid Attainers

High Attainers

All Dis All Dis All Dis students students students students students students

HWS Cohort

36

29

110

48

88

15

HWS Score

0.28

0.23

0.25

0.12

0.25

-0.18

National Score

0.00

0.19

0.0

0.14

0.00

0.07

Difference

0.28

0.04

0.25

-0.02

0.25

-0.25

Confidence +/-

0.35

0.39

0.20

0.30

0.22

0.54

Note: A Progress 8 value of zero indicates expected progress.

Anything over zero is better than expected. Anything less than zero is less than expected. 

Our overall Progress 8 score is significantly positive. It means that we can say that students at Highgate Wood School make more progress than students nationally. This is true for the last four years

Highgate Wood remains oversubscribed for September 2017

The local authority have recently released figures showing the number of preferences expressed by parents of children in Year 6 for secondary schools for the coming September. I am very pleased to report that we have again attracted a high number of parents who wish to send their children to Highgate Wood School. The overall number of preferences and the first choices are up on last year. Only Fortismere, and Alexandra Park schools have also achieved this overall level of popularity in Haringey.

HWS Pupil Admission Numbers 2016

Total Preferences for September 2016

243

1070

This means that yet again we will be oversubscribed in year 7. I continue to be humbled and enthused by the support that we continue to receive locally from our parents/carers and our community. It is pleasing to know that this (along with other indicators referred to earlier in this message) demonstrates that we are achieving our aim of being the school of local choice.

Feedback from Ofsted Visit on 16th November 2016

As mentioned earlier, Ofsted visited the school on 16th November. It was a short inspection visit which lasted for one day. The Ofsted inspection framework specifies that all schools who were  Our disadvantaged students have achieved well either good or outstanding on their previous visit with their Progress 8 score statistically in line with will receive a short inspection which begins with the non-disadvantaged students nationally premise that you remain as you were from the The above tables are just some of the highlights, and previous visit. During the visit, if the inspectors no the detailed analysis points to many other very longer feel that you are providing the same level of positive areas of the performance of Highgate Wood education as before, they then convert into a two Students. I would like to take this opportunity to day full inspection. In our case, the inspectors were congratulate my students from last year’s year 11 very pleased to confirm that Highgate Wood School and year 13 on their achievements and to publicly remains a good school and is improving. thank my very skilled and dedicated team of Consequently, the inspection stopped at the end of teachers for their excellent contribution to these the first day and the report that is written is shorter impressive results. We are proud that we truly do than perhaps you are used to. make a positive difference to our students at HWS. Issue 33

December 2016

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We are really pleased with the outcome from the inspection. We believed that we were a good and improving school, and Ofsted agreed with this.

There are a number of very positive comments that came out of the inspection.

I have highlighted below a number of quotes from the report: ‘The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection’ ‘(The Headteacher), leaders and governors know the school well’ ‘teaching is good and improving, as are behaviour and attendance.’

‘much work is done with pupils to teach them about e-safety and has made them feel much safer online.’

‘Lessons and assemblies that provide pupils with opportunities to think about rights, respect and tolerance for others lay the foundations for what makes pupils feel safe at this school.’

‘Leaders have focused upon improving the curriculum at key stage 3 so that pupils can hit the ground running. This recent development is already showing signs of improving pupils’ progress, particularly for those requiring additional support and for disadvantaged pupils.’

‘Effective feedback across subjects helps pupils to understand how they can improve.’

The link to the full report can be found on the school website.

‘effective work by middle leaders, monitor teaching and the impact of whole-school systems to closely track pupils’ progress against aspirational targets.’

Unfortunately we will be losing two members of staff at the end of this term

‘pupils’ performance overall is good and improving at GCSE and A level.’

‘Disadvantaged pupils make progress that exceeds that of other pupils nationally.’

‘Staff, parents and pupils recognise that improved clarity about rules and systems has improved behaviour’ ‘Governors work supports leaders’ accurate evaluation of the school’s performance and plans for further development.’ ‘leaders and governors have been proactive in their work to secure higher standards in the Sixth Form.’

‘Safeguarding is effective.’

Ms A. Falinska who has been with us this term in the science department is leaving us at the end of the term. She has been given the opportunity for a promotion, so we thank her for her contribution at Highgate Wood and wish her the best for the future.

Mr C. Broadbent, who was covering Ms Kingston’s maternity absence, will also be leaving us now that Ms Kingston is returning to work. We thank him for his significant contribution to the continued successes of the History department. ... And Finally

At the end of another successful and busy year, I thank you all for your continued support. For those of you who celebrate Christmas, have a good Christmas! For those of you who don’t, please enjoy the break. I wish you all good health for the holiday period and the very best for the New Year ahead.

‘Staff and pupils’ actions and interactions demonstrate a strong culture of safeguarding which is built upon a secure foundation of effective training, external links and policies.’

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Regards

Patrick Cozier Headteacher Issue 33

December 2016

SCHOOL COUNCIL FOR 2017 7H

Afriyie Nyametie

Kahild Hassan

7A

Sasha Key

Sureyya Ozlacin

7W

Helena Nawakor

7I

Mohamed Yakub

Eleanor Saint

7T

Yasmin Sollinger

Ned Screene

7D

Dominic Bradshaw

Defne Esikoglu

7G

Eren Mentesh

Katie Effingham

7E

Otis Forward

Chiara Pap

7S

Chanel Parchment

Dylan Mark

8H

Alfie Montgomery

Elanaz Kir

8A

Ayse Mehmet

Emre Dougan

8W

Megan Abraham

Chris Ochieng

8I

Jessy Stoneman

Ava Todd

8T

Alice Jenkins

Diyar Ciftci

8D

Simona Gudzaintse

Tamsin Jacobs

8G

Jenasia Walker

Seven Famurawa

8E

Fin Quartemain

Daisy Ybderwiid

8S

Amara Blair

Evan Shute

9H

Ella Bullard

Anwar Fuseini

9A

Hugo Clauge

9W

Sabine Kikuchi House Joshua Kingston

9I

William Carmichael

Bradley Kentish

9T

Ty Knox

9D

Joe Ewbank

Tyce Griffiths

9G

Vasilios Ofogeli

Ramneet Bains

9E

9S

Laurie Taylor

Daniel McCormick

10H

Amy Davis

Isabel Poutney

10A

Louise Cole-Legate

10W Emer Stevens

10I

Grace Heron

Lara Juneman

10T

Rojda Singicli

10D

Sydney Aarons

Jake Milligan

10G

Rebecca Manoharan

10E

Jem Clift

10S

Toby Wycott-Smith

Charlotte Whelan

11H

Lucy Sutton

11A

Erdem Cavusoglu

11I

11T

Jaden Bevan

11G

11E

Mergim

Ashley Forde

Natalie Monoghan

Maya Eagles

Dennis Demeter

Year 12

Jace Griffiths

Annabell Afrakoma

Year 13

Florence Penfold

Melinda Azemi

The best way to predict the future is to invent it

Ned Canton-Perry

Melisa Guvenler

Tara O’Regan

11W Louie Giles

Ella Mae Netherton

11D

Neil Lavie-Driver

Rashida O Mantoor

11S

Max Cowie Ebony Wallcott

Abel Kent

From caring comes courage

Success comes from perseverance

43,169

45,215

43,951

so far this year

so far this year

so far this year

Top Merit Earners Hussain Mahjaben (Yr 11) Mert Albayrak (Yr 10) Denada Bardhoshi (Yr 9) Eden Cavendish (Yr 8) Katie Effingham (Yr 7)

Top Merit Earners Maya Eagles (Yr 11) Mehmet Aslan (Yr 10) Jermaine Brown (Yr 9) Manon Elliott (Yr 8) Hana Good (Yr 7)

Top Merit Earners Jordell Percival (Yr 11) Day Robinson-McKenzie (Yr 10) Daniel McCormick (Yr 9) Kathleen Archibold (Yr 8) Lola Goldfinch Betts (Yr 7)

Many parents have found e-praise to be very helpful in keeping informed of their child’s behaviour and achievements at school. If you still need an account for the system please email data@hws.haringey.sch.uk with your child’s name.

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December 2016

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OUTSTANDING FOR ALL AWARDS

Mr Ashman writes: Students have been informed of a glitch in e-praise that meant some praise points were duplicated.

Over the coming break we will be making the required adjustments to bring the e-praise record back in line with SIMS. We are sorry that this has happened. The “extra points” will remain on the students’ shop account and we will also make some adjustments so no student is disproportionately affected.

It is worth pointing out that the negative behaviour points recorded in e-praise do not record the value of the demerit. It simply records if an incident happened.

Do let me know if you have any concerns by emailing data@hws.haringey.sch.uk

HOME SCHOOL COMMUNICATIONS Mr Ashman writes:

Many thanks to all those who have already downloaded the Xpressions App. Over the coming year we hope to make much more use of Xpression and though we have identified some issues with the initial product we are confident that we will be able to work together with Groupcall to ensure that it delivers what we need. This will include a live version of the school diary being pushed to those with Xpressions installed, as well as significant savings for the school on the cost of text messaging.

The Xpressions App is free, and is available for both Iphones and Android phones from their respective App stores.

Parents and carers should be able to login using the email and mobile phone contact details we have for you on the school system. If you encounter any problems please email data@hws.haringey.sch.uk

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Over a hundred nominees, judges, celebrities, and musicians were invited to Alexandra Palace on 5th December for Haringey’s annual Outstanding for All Awards.

Since 2013, the award night has ‘recognised those who have performed outstandingly and made Haringey proud’. One of the judges, Cllr Elin Weston, Cabinet Member for Children & Families, commented , ‘I was so impressed with the nominations – it really showcased the talent and dedication of Haringey’s students, staff and governors.’

Among the nominations were eight representatives of Highgate Wood: Noah Stoneman, for the Achievement in Sports and Art award; Eliane Vitoriano and Brittany Julienne for the Overcoming Adversity Award; Tracey Copley, Veronica Bielby, Kate Ereira, Lianne Woodstock, and Tyler SangoIsmael for the Support Staff of the Year Award; Tristan Ashman for the Councillor Egan Achievement Award.

The event was compered by Highgate Wood’s Patrick Hegarty Morrish, who told some cracking jokes, and had featured performances from Haringey Young Musicians’ Big Band and Haringey Vox, and the Woodside High Flyers.

Special guests included MP David Lammy, Maggie Philbin, and Spurs legend Ledley King.

Issue 33

December 2016

THE RAP PROJECT

COUGHS AND COLDS - BE PREPARED

Mr Ashman writes: Allison Havey and Deana Puccio, co-founders of The Rap Project will be visiting Highgate Wood School in February as part of our programme of activities around Safer Internet Day. They will be holding talks workshops with Year 9 students to provide help and guidance around the issues of appropriate behaviours, consent and safety both on and off line.

They will also be guest speakers at the PSA meeting on Thursday, 2nd February.

The Rap Project is a highly regarded initiative that raises awareness around personal safety, while openly discussing how pornography and social media influence our attitudes and expectations.

They also discuss issues around how media can negatively affect body image and self-esteem.

Alison and Deana’s book, “Sex, Likes and Social Media is on the Independent’s 10 best parenting books list and provides invaluable insights into the experiences young people routinely encounter online and promotes awareness for teenagers who are trying to negotiate the world of social media.

For more information you can visit The Rap Project’s website at www.therapproject.co.uk or buy their book online at bit.ly/hwsrap.

Information about other events happening at Highgate Wood School around Safer Internet Day next February will be circulated closer to the time.

Ms Copley writes: There has been the expected seasonal increase in the numbers of coughs and colds our students are experiencing this term so please ensure your children come to school prepared with their own tissues, cough sweets or throat lozenges and any medications that may help them through the day.

As everyday matters, we would ask you to arrange doctor, dentist or optician appointments outside of school hours and if this is not possible, then please ensure your child attends school up to their appointment and that they return to school immediately afterwards.

Please also be reminded that Highgate Wood School does not have a school nurse on site. Should you need the advice from one of the Haringey School’s Nursing Team they can be contacted at the Hornsey Central Neighbourhood Health Centre. We have qualified first aiders who will provide first aid for students and staff during the school day. Any injuries or illnesses that occur outside of school hours need to be attended to and assessed by your child’s GP or other appropriate services. Should your child have suffered a broken bone of fracture and will be returning to school on crutches, please let school know in advance so that arrangements can be made to ensure their safe access around the school site.

If your child is suffering from genuine illness, please contact school before 9.30am on each and every day of absence by leaving a message on the Attendance line: 020 8342 7970 giving clear reasons for the absence.

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December 2016

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GROWTH MINDSET AT HWS:

PART 2 FEEDBACK

Mr Hewitt writes: Here at Highgate Wood we have been encouraging staff and students to adopt a growth rather than a fixed mindset. This means:

SKILLS CHALLENGES EFFORT

... come from hard work and can always be improved. They are not fixed or something you are born with. ... should be embraced and seen as an opportunity to grow. Challenges should not be avoided or seen as things that might reveal a lack of skill. You shouldn’t give up easily. ... is essential on the path to mastery. It shouldn’t be seen as something you do because you are “not good enough”.

FEEDBACK

... Is seen as useful, something to learn from and identify areas for improvement. Not something to be defensive about or take personally.

SETBACKS

... Should be used as a wake-up call to work harder next time. They should lead to blaming others or feeling discouraged.

In the last edition of Insight I gave some guidance about praise. This time I’m sharing some advice about one of our key school priorities: feedback.

People with a growth mindset seek out and value feedback more than those with a fixed mindset.

One possible reason for this is because those with a growth mindset see new events as an opportunity to learn new things, to develop and challenge themselves, whereas those with a fixed mindset see it as a test (and therefore a judgement) of their ability. As well as giving someone feedback, the actual behaviour that should be praised is them seeking out this feedback. This will lead to them seeking out feedback again in the future, which is a positive response to either success or failure.

Evidence from the Education Endowment Foundation1 confirms that effective feedback is one of the most impactful and value-for-money interventions that schools can utilise.

This is something we have shared with staff and is part of our new Feedback Policy (available in the ‘Policies’ section of the website). In a nutshell, we are trying to follow the latest evidence and do less acknowledgement marking (sometimes referred to as ‘tick and flick’) and spend time reviewing fewer assessments in more depth. This will mean students will often be asked to respond to teachers or their peers’ comments on their work. We do this firstly so we can check that they understand what they need to do next to improve, but, just as importantly, to show that they have closed the gap.

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As we have asked for students books to go home more often you should be able to see the evidence of this.

We would encourage you to spend time asking your child what their ‘next steps’ are with a piece of work –what have they got to try to do to really improve their skills or understanding.

Additionally, praise your child for examples in their books where they have responded to their feedback and have attempted to improve.

A good example to see the power of formative assessment and the redrafting and improving of work is ‘Austin’s Butterfly’ (at bit.ly/hwsaustin or just Google ‘Austin’s Butterfly’) How parents/carers can help:  Reinforce the idea that constructive feedback is always a good thing as it helps show you how you can improve  Feedback comes in many forms including self and peer assessment, not just from the teacher  Seeking feedback (eg asking questions in class) is the sign of an effective, aspirational learner  Look at their books and discuss the feedback they have received from teachers  Ask them to explain what they need to do next to improve in each of their subjects 1

See the outcomes of EEF research at bit.ly/hwseef

Issue 33

December 2016

GCSE OPTIONS

MICRO-CLIMATE SURVEYING

Mr Thomas writes: Year 7 Geography classes have been busy around the school working on their first investigation on micro-climate. Using thermometers, anemometers (for wind speed) and environmental quality surveys for site they were tasked with finding a good place for a new school picnic table to be located.

REPORTING FOR THE LONDON TIMES

Mr Hartley writes: Year 9 students should now be thinking carefully about their GCSE choices for next year. The Option process officially begins on Thursday, 26th January but the earlier students start planning the better.

Students will be guided to make appropriate choices for GCSE success and will need to make four choices, from which three will be allocated during the process of finalising the arrangements.

We recommend most students take a language GCSE, French, Spanish or a community language.

One of the option choices for the vast majority of students must be a facilitating subject: History, Geography, a foreign language or Computer Science.

More details will be available on the Options Evening and also through the new Options Booklet that will be launched at the same time.

The event follows a week after the Year 9 Parent Consultation Evening which should also help students in making the best decision for what they should be doing in Key Stage 4.

Issue 33

December 2016

Ms Wildman writes: On Monday 21st November Highgate Wood had an exclusive visitor: John Simpson, Crime Reporter for The Times, who ran a workshop on news reporting.

Fifteen Highgate Wood students attended the session, and they learned about how to find a news story. They also learned about the route into journalism and the daily life of a crime reporter, which is not dissimilar to being a Police Investigator!

The students looked at copytasting tasks, which meant choosing a newsworthy story from a list and then investigating it. John brought in reports he had written and students thought about how long they took to research and what he had to do in order to write the report.

This workshop provided students from the BBC School News Report and from the Young Reporter blog with the tools they will need to find a good news story.

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HIGHGATE WOOD SCHOOL CHRISTMAS CARD

Ms Zwicky writes: Many thanks to all those who contributed designs for this year’s Highgate Wood School Christmas Card.

It was a close thing but, in the end, Coco Sanchez and Willow Miller Teece were judged as runners-up and Celeste Clift won.

Her design has been used on the official Highgate Wood School Christmas Card 2016. Well done all.

UNIFORM, PE KIT AND LOST PROPERTY Ms Went writes: We have our first Highgate Wood School Bake Off winner of 2016/17. Sabine Kikuchi House 9W was outright winner having won three (Swiss Roll, Cheese Straws and Ginger Bread) out of the six technical challenges due to the consistency and high quality of the sensory attributes that she has achieved with each of her baked products. Runner up was Alabama Crawley 9T with her Short Bread Biscuits and Ginger Bread (joint winner).

Well done to everyone who took part.

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Mr Ashman writes: We are pleased to announce that we are now able to sell the school PE kit items through Wisepay.

Due to the change of supplier, they will also be at a lower cost than previously - and will come with name tags on which it will be possible to write the owner’s name and form. Unfortunately at the same time we have had to pass on the increase in price for regular items of school uniform (due to increased costs from the manufacturer). These new prices are also displayed on Wisepay.

You should also be aware that we will soon have a new link on the school website. This will allow families to make requests through the PSA for items of uniform or other clothing that may have been lost in school. It will also provide parents with the opportunity to recycle old items of school uniform within the school community.

Many thanks to the PSA for already working some miracles with our lost property store.

Issue 33

December 2016

FIELD WORK AT KING’S CROSS

Mr Thomas writes: The Year 12 Geographers completed their first piece of field work for the A level specification with a visit to King’s Cross to see the regeneration taking place there.

It is one of the biggest regeneration projects in Europe and with sustainable design at its heart an excellent example of 21st Century urban planning. Students completed their survey with rigour and some really interesting interviews took place, including a long-standing market trader in Somerstown and the owner of a business in the new Granary Square. A great start to the regeneration topic.

You can also see some of this remarkable regeneration problem by visiting www.kingscross.co.uk.

Here you can read about the plans, take a virtual tour of the area, watch what is happening on live web-cam feeds and even take an architects’ journal tour of the Development.

THE ERASMUS + PROJECT BEGINS

Mr Ifrim writes: As mention in the last Insight we are now involved in the Erasmus + programme and are working with schools from different European countries, including Romania, Italy, Spain and Finland. For the next two years we will be working with students and staff from these countries to promote well-being within our schools and explore how it can be improved through mentoring, teamwork pedagogy and growth mindset pedagogy.

Our Erasmus + partners were in school early in November to discuss and plan the projects that will be run during the next two years.Our guests had a great time in London exploring a great variety of things between meetings.

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Over the coming year we will embark on a programme that involves a visit to the Basque country in March, to Italy in May and then to Finland in October.

The project work is based on a theme of Building European Wellness in Learning for Life (BE WELL) and the aim is to work through different activities to help us feel happier and healthier in all aspects of our lives. This is a European Union funded project and there will be lots of opportunities for students and staff to get involved in a variety of different activities like surveys, project work, questionnaires, on-line communication and others.

The first activity is to create a logo for the entire project and there will be a competition in each one of the partner schools.

At Highgate Wood there will be a mini-competition in each tutor group to decide on a House entry and then a vote to choose the entry from our school.

For some people this will involve going on a trip to work with students in another country, or working with visitors when they come to see us.

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WINTER CONCERT 2016 The extraordinary Year 7 talents of Sasha Key, Summer Jenkins and Dylan Mark, the fantastically acrobatic street dance of Rudy Tonkinson, the enchanting Mozart solo by Zoe Hutchings and the virtuoso piano performance from Maddy Baron were a few of the highlights from this year’s Winter Concert: three truly remarkable evenings of musical talent and celebration.

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WINTER CONCERT 2016 STUDENTS INVOLVED IN THE CONCERT

Photos by Empire Productions Gallery available on the school website.

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Kathleen Archbold Felix Andrew Sammy Bacon Lily Bacon-Darwin Mayam Bar-Amotz V. Maddy Baron Cassia Begg Faber Bell Rudy Berman Jaden Bevan Mia Blasi Rosie Boardman Megan Boardman Lloyd Bolton Oscar Bond Jay Bradshaw-Tipping Gabe Brown Joe Bruce Rory Butler Eden Cavendish Molly Chapman Uma Clague Gabriel Clarke Mia Clifford Celeste Clift Jem Clift Reece Cooper Isobel Crompton Amy Davis Grace Dench Katya Dickson Zar Duffy Iola Elson Rosa Elson Yandeh Faye Rose Feilden Leon Georgiou-James Lola Goldfinch-Betts Darcey Grant Stephen Jacob Gryn Louis Hamilton Maisy Harrison Matilda Heath Patrick Hegarty Rosie Hegarty Alfie Hellier Faye Heron Zoe Hutchings Summer Jenkins Kate Jevons Anna Jevons Zoe Johnson Eleanor Jones Art Jubb-Baddiel Rowan Juneman

Senem Kart Alexandra Key Buse Kiran Ty Knox Betty Knox Nancy Levy-Vegh Leo Lynch Moresha Mansaray Dylan Mark Sam Marks Sasha Marks Ella Marshall Maddie McBroom Izzy McBroom Johan Miranda-Franck Daisy Murray Isobel Murray Charlie Newbold Tamsin Orford-Williams Jennifer Orford-Williams Kate Owen Yasemin Ozalcin Eva Parfitt Nyah Patel-Durasamy Alfie Peri Elsa Poutney Isabel Poutney Ruby Renner-Gomez Jess Renton Thomas Roberts Louis Rodney Josh Rodney Colette Rogers Eleanor Saint Mignon Schamroth Billy Scott Price Hope Selby Andrew Seymour Imogen Sheppard Hana Sky Nicholas Eimear Stevens Jessie Stoneman Noah Stoneman Rudy Tonkinson Scala Tromans Sissily Waite Nelson Waite Sian Walker-Evans Yasmin Walton Erica Watkin Eleanor Weatherall Dani Weiss Lucy Whelan Leah Whittaker Zara Zafar

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JACK PETCHEY’S SPEAK OUT CHALLENGE

FIRST STORY CONTINUES

Ms Sayer writes: Through November, 90 Year 10 students had the opportunity to take part in the ‘Jack Petchey Speak Out Challenge’. It is a programme run by the Speakers Trust, funded by the Jack Petchey Foundation and aims to help students to acquire the skills, confidence and desire to speak in public.

Day Mckenzie-Robinson (10W) writes: At first I was apprehensive because I don’t like to speak in front of others. Once the workshop started, the room felt positive, I thought to myself: ‘Why not? I’ve got nothing to lose!’ Indeed I was right; the support from my classmates was unbelievable. It enabled me to let go.

All in all I’m extremely thankful for the opportunity which has helped me to speak out.

Congratulations to our nine semi-finalists: Sydney, Brandon, Tallulah, Day, Eden, Heaven, Besmir, Kevonte and Mia. They will go head-to-head shortly after the winter break to decide which two students will attend the regional final on 31st January!

DEBATE MATE Ms Sayer writes: November saw the return of Debate Mate at Highgate Wood School. This year, it is bigger and better than ever! Thanks to additional lottery funding, Debate Mate is now able to send four universitylevel debaters to mentor up to 72 of our students.

It’s been great to see so many new faces as well as some Debate Mate veterans.

Naji Ataya 8A writes: Joining Debate Mate was a great idea because I am now able to speak up to everyone. It has boosted by confidence in debating and has meant that I got to know other students. Debate Mate is fun, cool, awesome and friendly. My advice is that you should try it!

The first competition this year – the Urban Debate League – will begin in January and everyone is very excited to test out their skills.There are still a few places remaining. Anyone who is interested in joining should see Miss Sayer in A26.

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Mr Gowen writes: For the past 18 months the English department have arranged for the First Story Scheme to attend Highgate Wood School.

First Story is a charity which arranges for published writers to visit schools and run a variety of workshops that fosters a love for writing. Writer/ rapper/poet Adam Kammerling has been corunning these workshops I’m very pleased with the enthusiasm of this year’s First Story team and I’m looking forward to sharing the work of these developing writers throughout the year. Our writing has certainly developed tremendously thanks to addictive group games, comradery, and innovative methods of posture when writing. The group is participating in some fantastic work and I’m enjoying how much more confident they are in sharing their writing. The sessions have undoubtedly helped them find and develop individual voices.

We recently enjoyed our Christmas party where each student received a free book of their choice and plenty of mince pies!

For more details about First Story please visit www.firststory.org.uk/ or speak to Mr Gowen.

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DIGIGIRLZ AT MICROSOFT.

YEAR 7 SCIENCE CLUB

Ms Brown writes: This term eight year 8 girls embarked on a trip to Reading to attend the annual DigiGirlz event at the Microsoft campus. They got an amazing insight into what life could be like with a job in technology.

In the first session, the girls worked in a team to design and promote an educational app. Each member of the group was allocated a role. They had to brainstorm ideas, decide on a final idea, then decide how to promote it, with the use of props and a video camera.

All girls demonstrated excellent team skills and I am very proud of how well they worked together in a group.

During the second session, three female employees discussed their job roles within the tech industry.

The girls were informed about a role as a games producer (along with a sneak peek of an upcoming game), software engineer, Human Computer Interaction designer/engineer, and even found out about Microsoft apprentices.

They all had a great time and it opened their eyes to what is available in what is currently still a male dominated field.

Dr Trujillo Puig writes: The Year-7 Science Club is up and running. We started imagining we are intergalactic space travellers (we really are!) in our spaceship (Earth) and with our powerhouse (Sun).

This science club is for students who would like to gain a greater and deeper understanding of topics covered in class. There is practical work involved, but plenty of thinking is required!

Our inquisitive Clubbers are wondering about:  What is the difference between matter and antimatter?  What is dark matter made of? (Zar)  What type of matter is the black hole made of?

(Alex)  Evidence for the Big Bang theory. Can we discuss the double split experiment? (Hana)  Could you get a magnet to float by being forced into a see-through cube with loads of magnets placed in the edges of it? (Andrew) We are going to work on forces, energy and electricity for the coming weeks.

If you would like to join us in our journey of discovery, please, visit our Science Support Team and collect a pass at break or lunch time on the same day.

We meet every Thursday, from 3:20 to 4:20 pm in P6.

Our motto is: Challenge me! Ask me a question and make my day!

MOKSHA—THE GAME Ms Kemp writes: 7I have been making board games based on the Hindu idea of Moksha and, as you can see, there's some beautiful examples of work. Some of the best contributions came from Hannah Sky Nicholas, Jolanda Dittrich, Millie Tailor and Idin Jedari Selahpour.

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EU MOCK COUNCIL

Ms Sayer writes: On 17th November, 65 students from 31 schools in the UK participated in this year's EU Mock Council – a simulation exercise in EU decision-making jointly organised by the British Council and the European Commission Representation in the UK. This year's Mock Council was divided into sessions which discussed different themes (Erasmus+ and the European Arrest Warrant) from the point of view of the UK withdrawing from the EU. Students representing the EU-27 negotiated what the EU's position vis-à-vis the UK should be, while those representing the UK delegation held parallel

bilateral talks with representatives of the EU-27.

Students playing the role of media were tasked to publish real-time news based on interviews conducted throughout the day.

Tommy Pegler and Lucy Whelan in Year 12 represented Austria. Having thoroughly researched the topics, the students decided that their aim throughout the talks was to prevent the reality of leaving the European Union from looking too favourable; Austria’s current government is trying to fend off Eurosceptic right-wing ‘Freedom Party’, and is therefore against the UK being able to ‘cherry pick’ the best parts of the EU. I was astounded by the commitment of Tommy and Lucy prior to the event, the high level of debate both in and out of committee sessions and their ability to stick firmly to their country’s position.

Well done!

HELPING FOOTBALLERS IN AFRICA Mr Adams writes: In September Jack Pinnick-Gray, son of Assistant Headteacher Lindsay Pinnick, took a bag of donated football shirts and equipment from Highgate Wood School PE department to a school in Zimbabwe. The coaches and players of the two football teams were over the moon when they received the equipment.

In true Zimbabwe style the NGO Jack worked with (the Midlands AIDS Service Organisation) made the handover of the equipment into a huge celebration with speeches and dancing.

The equipment was sent to two football youth clubs that Jack and his team worked with while they were in Zimbabwe, the Gweru Pirates Football Club and Rise and Shine Football Club. The players were aged from 12 all the way up to mid to late 20s.

The clubs had very little equipment and one club 18

carried out training with two footballs being the extent of their training resources.

The donated equipment has gone on to make a huge difference for the club and the local community.

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THE GOOD IMMIGRANT CONFERENCE

Mr Gowen writes:.

A selection of sixth form students attended a discussion panel at the British Library free of charge.

Chaired by BBC journalist Razia Iqbal and entitled ‘The Good Immigrant’, the panellists consisted of poet Vahni Capildeo, writer and academic Eva Hoffman’, Windrush: The Irresistible Rise of MultiRacial Britain co-author Mike Phillips, and writer Nikesh Shukla.

James Beeby writes: The friendly nature of all the panellists helped make the audience more comfortable, especially when discussing the sensitive topic of immigration. Razia Iqbal carried a good discussion of the topic, weaving the ins and outs of what immigration entails. As an added bonus the British Library had excellent facilities and very comfortable seating!

It was a very well-orchestrated trip; everyone was very friendly and passionate about the subject.

STEM POTENTIAL

Dr Chaudhary writes: Congratulations to Beriwan-Eliz Cosgun (year 12), Jahidul Hussain (Year 12) and Tolga Kale (Year 12), for gaining places onto this two years STEM Potential programme at Imperial College, London.

They have all been selected for one of the only 90 places available to all students from schools in and around the London area.

Through this programme students will be supported in their studies via lectures, subject-specific workshops as well as Masterclasses in Science and Maths. They will also be allocated e-mentors (undergraduates and postgraduates students currently studying at Imperial College London) who will be available to answer any questions, offer support and advice during the programme.

Furthermore, these students will be given guidance when making University applications as well as support with their Personal Statements for UCAS. Mock interviews for the chosen students will also be on offer.

FIRST AID AT KEY STAGE 3 Mr Grimmett writes Over the course of the Autumn term Year 8 and Year 9 students have all studied Level 1 First Aid using lessons provided by St John Ambulance.

At the end of the course students were invited to complete an online written assessment in order to qualify for their certificate. 292 students qualified and should now have received their certificates.

After they were handed out in form classes I saw a number of students quite happily showing their certificates to their friends. Ms Jones informed me that her form class treated it, rightly, as a celebration. We also asked students for their Issue 33

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thoughts about learning First Aid in school. 95% of students believed it should be taught in lessons and many students agreed with our own view such as Zoe in 8D who that that "First Aid is very important so that everyone young and old knows what to do in an emergency." Sabine in 9W said "Having first aid skills and knowledge is very important as it can save lives." We also liked Fabienne in 8T's comment that "each year we should learn more about first aid."

Well Fabienne, after such positive feedback we hope to deliver Level 2 First Aid to you in Year 9!

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CREATIVE QUARTERS AT THE V&A

Eimear Stevens writes: Last year I wrote this poem for The Poetry Trials competition that was set up by Mrs Monaghan. It has made it to the top five and I now have to submit a video of me performing the poem. If you like it, please vote for me on the Poetry Trials website.

Watch this space for information on when to vote.

Here is the link to the list of winners if you want to Ms Shepherd writes: see my name in lights! http://bit.ly/hwsptrials This November our AS Art and Design and AS Textile students visited the Creative Quarters event at the Victoria Her face is an empty, blank canvas, and Albert Museum for the first time. The event is just a blank space. designed to give students an insight into the She believes it masks her femininity, Creative Industries and involves a number of lectures by high-calibre industry professionals as she feels just too much misplaced. well as a series of fun drop-in events.

She grabs her brush, starts with the base, Students learned what is it like to work as an she begins to feel more in place. architect from Katy Ghahremani, Director at Make, She applies it layer by layer, feeling more pretty, an award-winning international architecture bearing in mind no one will feel any pity.

Without her warpaint, she feels too defenceless, practice responsible for designing many projects including the Copper Box and the Podium at the weak and broken, she's completely powerless, Olympic park for London 2012. without this armour, she will crash and burn, Ms. Ghahremani gave an interesting insight into knowing one day these tables will never turn. what architecture means to her and the complexity She begins to realise her canvas isn't the only of the discipline as well as routes into architecture. problem, but it's the stand beginning to collapse.

She changes her appetite with any excuse, ignoring the fact it's just pure self-abuse.

People start to notice, people start to talk, because everything she paints on can rub off like chalk.

Her canvas starts to tear and her stand begins to rust, until her whole future turns into dust.

Paint

(this is also on the blog of HWS Reporters http:// bit.ly/hwsespoem)

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Ms Zwicky writes: After a long term of hard work the House teams were delighted to organise reward trips for students in Year 7 and Year 8.

To celebrate the first term at Highgate Wood and settling into secondary school, Year 7s went ice skating to Alexandra Palace. Each house went separately and it was great to see our students bond work together and grow in confidence as they were making their way around the ice. All students persevered, and managed to make fantastic

improvements, and those who are more experienced on the ice turned out to be fabulous leaders by supporting and teaching others.

Year 8s travelled slightly further afield, visiting Hollywood Bowl in Finchley. Many of the students proved themselves to be accomplished bowlers, earning lots of strikes and half-strikes.

Rewards trips for older students will take place later in the year when we plan to take deserving Year 9 and Year 10 students to one of the country’s top theme parks.

REWARDS TRIPS BEGIN! Ms Sen writes: Some our students were invited to tour this year’s Open Studios with creative writing tutors Sara Langham and Kate Pemberton. Their brief - to write a piece of compelling Flash Fiction inspired by an artwork from the studios.

It was a fantastic day, and Open Studies expressed their thanks to our “wonderful and talented students who were a real pleasure to meet and to work with.”

They were incredibly impressed with the work our students produced in response to the artwork they saw and will be featuring Year 7s Oliwia Zdeb writing on the Haringey Literature Live website.

Here are the opening lines: Girl In Hat By Oliwia Zdeb I was looking for a hat. Suddenly I felt as if all of the happiness from my body was gone. I grabbed a hat and ran out. I shoved it on and I felt as if was back to normal. I ran to the doctors and found out I had a Issue 33

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deadly disease called 'the dementeroids' and that this very hat that was on my head was the only cure to this disease.

Did this mean I had to keep this woolly hat on forever?

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OFFERING SUPPORT TO NHS PATIENTS

Jahidul Hussain writes: Every Friday, a small group of HWS Sixth Formers volunteer their time at Whittington Hospital with the charity “Kissing It Better” to help lift the patients’ spirits.

Every week offers something new when we visit the hospital and go on the ward, as we help out so many different people suffering from many different illnesses. This does make it difficult for us when we hear their stories and what they’ve been through especially for those who suffer from dementia as they find it very difficult to remember their past or how to do the simplest of tasks. But by offering conversation and activities in art and quizzes it does help to provide some stimulation for patients at the hospital.

During enrichment last week some of us spent a couple of hours colouring and drawing pictures to put up in the adult wards as the walls there are so bare and colourless. Most of the patients cannot afford to pay the daily TV rental fee and they do not have family to visit, so making the ward a bit brighter can improve their day.

Even though those patients we visited who suffer from dementia may not remember us when we leave the hospital, knowing that we made a difference really does help to provide the feeling of satisfaction and joy for all of us. We know we are making a difference to peoples’ lives.

If you would like to get involved you can either speak to the Sixth Form Office or go directly to http://www.kissingitbetter.co.uk

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BIKEABILITY AT HWS

Mr Grimmett writes: Last summer the school was awarded funding by the local authority to invest in cycling provision. As such we are running a course in conjunction with 'Cycling Instructor' to teach students how to cycle safely and correctly.

Around 70 students from KS3, some of whom had never cycled before, took part in the first sessions this half term. These initial sessions were to assess our students current cycling ability to ensure it is safe for them to go out on the road during the Spring term for longer periods of time - all students who took part have passed Level 1 Bikeability!

Well done!

We had a number of responses from students ranging from "that was fun, when can we do it again" to "OMG SIR I CAN RIDE A BIKE NOW!" Mert from 7A said "I liked when we had to cycle around objects and doing emergency stops was fun." Kasper, also from 7A, said "I liked that we did real scenarios, the teachers were very friendly and very helpful".

Hannah from Cycling Instructor emailed the week after to say that she was impressed with how enthusiastic and fantastic our students were.

We look forward to running the next cycling sessions and we will be in touch soon to let you know when they will take place. As with this term, it will be coordinated by Ms Gribble, Ms Wildman and myself.

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WE.ORG CAMPAIGNING IN YEAR 10

STREET DANCE STAR

Ms Gribble writes: Well done to Year 10 students: Eimer Stevens, Marco Reeves, Maddie Osborn, William Jenner, Ella Philips, Grace Heron, Isabel Poutney, Euan Escott, Alasdair Ellis, Jack Thornton, Milou-Mau, Hope Selby and Tom Roberts who took part in We.Org Training on the 10th of November to campaign for a local or global cause throughout the year.

They are planning to raise awareness of mental health, tackle discrimination and support the homelessness charity Crisis.

OTHELLO AT CITY TEMPLE Mr Gowen writes: The English department arranged for year 13 English Literature students to attend a series of lectures on Othello at City Temple in Lonon.

Anna Keating writes: In the Othello lecture there were four different speakers all with different ideas and themes that they specifically concentrated on. We were given a resource that helped us to jot down notes and have some useful quotes.

The first talk was on racial otherness; It was very interesting and full of useful information such as contextual factors such as the Darwinian Theory that I would have never picked up on by myself.

The day became more enjoyable as I became more accustomed to taking notes in a lecture hall style.

We gained insight into Othello as a tragic hero, the pleasure in tragedy, the role of women, and appearance and reality. Some bold statements that Othello could be considered a comedy rather than a tragedy were also made, however her argument did not win me over. Nonetheless I would say I learnt a lot and it was well worthwhile going to.

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Ms Woodstock writes: Well done Dior Beckford who recently won 5th place in the under 14’s beginner solo at the 101 Events UK Street Dance Championships Final, held at the K2 centre in Crawley.

Her team “Unit,” from The London Dance Factory where she trains, also won 1st place in the U16’s beginners category.

Dior has been training at The London Dance Factory, Edmonton for many years, learning various styles of dance, including ballet, jazz, contemporary and street, but she and her team only started competing in April this year. They have since gone on to win lots of trophies and awards in a short space of time.

We wish Dior every success in her future competitions. We are certain she will do well.

If you’re interested in taking up a street dance class in the New Year check out the London Dance Factory at http://thelondondancefactory.co.uk But remember there’s also lots of fun extracurricular activities to keep you fit and healthy at Highgate Wood too!

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GCSE ART AT HIGHGATE WOOD SCHOOL

24

Emile Wilson

22nd—24th February 2017

Niall Johnson

Savannah Smith

Ms Zwicky writes: In the very last week of term, virtually the last day, our Year 11 Art students took their 10 hour mock exam.

Though everyone is tired after long and busy term, our art students have really done themselves proud.

The standard of work is incredibly high, and though we are only able to feature work in progress in Insight, I am sure you will agree it shows genuine proficiency and skill.

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SAFE DRIVE STAY ALIVE

Ms Pinnick writes: On Monday 21st November, the whole of Year 12 attended an event at the Bernie Grant Arts Centre sponsored by Transport for London. Students were warmed up with a true or false quiz about the number of road traffic accidents in Haringey. This was followed by a drama reconstruction of some seventeen year olds at a party. Unfortunately the driver of the car was over the legal limit for alcohol and crashed the car, killing and injuring himself and the passengers. The film was paused at key points to allow a police officer, paramedic and road traffic campaigner to explain their experience of young people and road traffic accidents. It was very sobering hearing their accounts.

Students and staff were particularly shocked to discover that the road traffic campaigner was the father of a 16 year old girl who had died when a car driven by a young driver mounted the pavement and knocked her down. Finally a twenty three year old victim of a road traffic accident spoke to the students. He recalled how he had been celebrating his 21st birthday in January two years ago, only to wake up in hospital six weeks later to find that he could not walk or speak. After two years of intense physiotherapy and speech therapy he is beginning to rebuild his life - we all had such admiration for his courage and determination.

Many students commented on the fact that they were going to delay learning to drive and would be more confident about not getting into the car of a driver who had been drinking or be able to tell the driver in a car to slow down if they were going too fast.

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Ms Pinnick writes: This Autumn term I have been impressed by the enthusiasm that our students have displayed for their studies and for their involvement in the wider school community. Many students are currently exceeding their minimum target grades and attendance is above 95% for a significant number of students.

Students have engaged in the new enrichment programme, attending talks from universities, getting involved in volunteering, bidding for funding for a personal challenge through the Mark Evison Foundation and even baking Christmas cup cakes!

Year 12 students have mentored Year 11 students through the Aspire and Achieve programme and have been supporting Year 7s with their reading.

The Year 13 World Challenge students have supported events such as the Year 7 parents' social evening and the recent Year 7 disco. Over 30 Year 12 students have signed up for the next World Challenge which takes place in Northern India in 2018. It is a real pleasure to see so many students getting involved in the school community.

The majority of Year 13 students have applied for university places, with offers flooding in from a range of universities.

Over Christmas it is vital that students relax and recharge. It is also important that all students are prepared for their mock exams which start after the holiday.

Congratulations to the following students who achieved 100% attendance this term: Faye Heron Tolga Kale Rowan Juneman Tommy Pegler Melissa Guvenler Janay Hastings Eda Yuce I would also like to thank all those students who made our Open Evening so successful. Not only did we welcome a record number of prospective candidates but we are still receiving daily enquiries from Year 11 students all over north London who want to be able to join our sixth form community.

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PHILOSOPHY AND HISTORY VISIT TO AUSCHWITZ

Ms Burniston writes: It is now a tradition at Highgate Wood School that our History and Philosophy Sixth Form students get the opportunity to travel to Auschwitz during November. Without question the visit is emotional and thought-provoking, forcing us to reflect on some of the darkest times in human history.

Our students will share their reflections with the rest of the school during assemblies next year, but below three students share their immediate thoughts.

Leila K House writes: The moment when I couldn't differentiate between the bleak sunless sky and the ankle deep snow, wearing three shirts, leggings and tracksuit bottoms, woollen socks, a ski jacket, boots, gloves, a hat, but still being to unable bear the biting temperatures, was when I truly began to empathise with the hundreds of thousands of mums, dads, brothers, sisters, and friends, that had to survive in those conditions, wearing only pyjamas or nothing at all.

Lily Roberts and Scarlett Monaighan write: During the three days we spent in Poland we were able to gain a deeper understanding of the horrific events of the holocaust that occurred during World War Two. Our first day was spent meeting a holocaust survivor; her story was both tragic and touching and although she struggled to explain her experiences she managed to portray the everlasting effect that such an ordeal had on not just her, but millions of innocent people across Poland.

On the second day we were given the opportunity to visit Auschwitz. Being in Auschwitz its self was something you can never imagine, never equate to a picture or story. Although the topic was upsetting, going there was something that gave us both perspective and greater appreciation towards those who suffered at the hands of Nazi Germany.

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@HWSArt_Photo

ART EVENTS AND TWITTER Ms Zwicky writes: This term the Art Department has been very busy providing enrichment opportunities. Our sixth form students have been on many exciting trips, extending their learning well outside the classroom and into the wider world.

As Ms Shepherd writes elsewhere in Insight, our Year 12 Art and Textiles classes participated in the Creative Quarters day delivered by the V&A Museum, taking part in workshops and attending Talks by leading industry professional designers, festival organisers and architects. They made fantastic use of this day and we hope this feeds into their understanding of the creative skills they are learning on the course.

Year12 photographers were able to visit the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize at the National Portrait Gallery. This informed their development of ideas based around portraiture, and has inspired exciting work, showing real strength and promise.

The work shared with the National Portrait Gallery via Twitter was well received, and is a testament to the creative talent we have on board this year.

And finally our Sixth Form Art classes embarked on a joint trip to the William Kentridge exhibition at the Whitechapel Gallery. This was a unique experience for our students as they were able to encounter the work of an artist who collaborates with costume designers, film makers and composers to produce his visually and auditory installations. His often traditional drawing techniques are then developed exciting contemporary installation work. It was wonderful to see our student s respond to this once in a lifetime exhibit. We look forward to sharing with you in future how this experience is feeding into their own art practice.

If you would like to keep informed, and help us celebrate the fantastic work produced by our students, follow us on twitter @HWSArt_Photo.

This will also allow you to receive links to interesting exhibitions, articles, competitions, websites or extra workshops offered by London galleries to support your child’s art knowledge, experience and education.

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ACCELERATED READERS

A GIFT FOR YEAR 7

Ms Ereira writes Congratulations to the students listed below who have won Gold and Silver certificates with Accelerated Reader.

Remember that you can access this at home, http://bit.ly/hwsar, and parents\carers can also access the Accelerated Reader Home Connect at http://bit.ly/hwsarhc. With both sites the username and password is your regular school username and password.

If there are any problems please email data@hws.haringey.sch.uk giving details of the issue.

Ms Ereira writes: Lucky Year 7. They have each selected a book to receive as a gift from the Bookbuzz programme, funded by Book Trust. There were some great titles to choose from, and the books have now been distributed during LRC English lessons.

As you can see from the photo, River of Ink was overwhelmingly the most popular choice.

Happy reading, Year 7!

Gold Certificate (800,000 words) Bethan Coomber L (7G) Suria De Peon-Lyalls (7S) Jolanda Dittrich (7I) Katie Effingham (7G) Isabel Gordon (7I) Scarlett Lloyd (7I) Maya Ramlogan (7S) Eleanor Saint (7I) Amy Shaw (7D) Zeliha Sigirtmac (7S) Myla Tailor (7I) Oliwia Zdeb (7W)

Silver Certificate (400,000 words) Charlie Barriga (7G) Miggy Boda (7H) Dominic Bradshaw (7D) Eva Chard (7D) Niall Dougan (7S) Nina Fraser (7E) Hana Good (7E) Theo Gorman (7D) Maisy Harrison (7W) Talia Hendry (7A) Frankie Holmes-Kelly (7T) Charlie Jackson (7H) Cheyanne S Kusi (7G) Kara R Metzler (7T) Emily Millard (7H) Etienne Munday (7D) Andrew Seymour (7D) Kenan Sijercic (7G) Maxim Susu (7S) Ellie E Tanner (7T)

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Gold Certificate (25 quizzes) Bethan Coomber L (7G) Jolanda Dittrich (7I) Katie Effingham (7G) Isabe Gordon (7I) Scarlett Lloyd (7I) Maya Ramlogan (7S)

Silver Certificate (15 Quizzes) Charlie Barriga (7G) Miggy Boda (7H) Dominic Bradshaw (7D) Eva Chard (7D) Suria De Peon-Lyalls (7S) Niall Dougan (7S) Deniz Durmaz (7S) Theo Gorman (7D) Maisy Harrison (7W) Talia Hendry (7A) Frankie Holmes-Kelly (7T) Charlie Jackson (7H) Cheyanne S Kusi (7G) Kara R Metzler (7T) Emily Millard (7H) Etienne Munday (7D) Eleanor Saint (7I) Andrew Seymour (7D) Kenan Sijercic (7G) Maxim Susu (7S) Ellie E Tanner (7T) Lily C Bacon Darwin (8W) Rosie Hegarty Morrish (8T) Alice Jenkins (8T) Freddie Pegler (8H) Zoe Street (8D) Issue 33

GOSPEL CHOIR AT HIGHGATE

Mrs Otchere writes: The Gospel choir allows students to connect with others of the same faith, to talk about their faith in music and dance and express their love for God in singing.

The choir meets on Wednesday lunchtimes in the Drum.

If you are interested or know any Gospel choir teacher, master or trainer please speak to Mrs Otchere.

December 2016

KAREN McCOMBIE VISITS THE LRC

NIKKI SHEEHAN VISITS THE LRC

Ms Ereira writes: The Whispers of Wilderwood Hall is shortlisted for the Highgate Wood School Book Award and we were lucky enough to be visited by the author, Karen McCombie, who gave a lunchtime talk in the LRC. Karen is a phenomenally popular writer and her 85th book, St Grizzle’s School for Girls, Goats and Random Boys, (great title!) is being published in January.

She talked to us about her path to becoming a writer, through studying media studies and then sub -editing work on teen magazines and finally writing her own fiction.

Ideas for books, she told us, don’t just come by magic but by observing real life and she shared the details which inspired some of her most recent books. She carries a notebook in which she jots down interesting details which she can use later to help her stories come to life. It’s a great idea for any aspiring writers.

The Whispers of Wilderwood Hall is about a teenage girl who leaves her life in Kentish Town for a crumbling Edwardian manor house in Scotland.

Lonely and anxious, she hears whispering in the walls and finds herself pulled back in time to 1912. A connection is formed with a lonely maid working in the house – but all is not quite as it seems…

Come and find this intriguing time-slip story in the LRC before voting opens for the school book award in February.

Ms Ereira writes: If you could be an animal, what would you be? And if you were a human with the characteristics of that animal, what would that mean? Nikki Sheehan’s enthusiastic audience came up with all sorts of suggestions from snails (socially advantaged slugs!) to unicorns, finally creating a story in which Sasha and her little group of apparently sweet dolphin friends bully poor Velona the horse. Alison the wolf is unfairly blamed, being less smiley and cute.

But Swan Boy, shortlisted for the HWS Book Award, is about a boy finding the qualities of a swan. It’s a brilliantly original book, though Nikki says that, having written it, she realised that ‘it’s basically the Ugly Duckling, and that there are lots of Celtic and other myths about people turning into swans and flying off. It happens all the time.’

Nikki showed us a huge sheet of paper on which she had plotted out the story of Swan Boy. She had stuck feathers on to the ‘swanny’ parts of the story, and colour-coded moments of danger and the parts set around the pond.

It seems a long way from her former life writing subtitles for The Simpsons, but she says the discipline of that job taught her to be precise about the words she needed to use. The care with which she uses language, combined with an unrestrained enjoyment of daydreaming, has produced wonderful things. She says that when her first book went to the publishing house, she felt they were eavesdropping on her dreams.

Come to the LRC to find Swan Boy and eavesdrop on Nikki Sheehan’s dreams.

Issue 33

December 2016

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CATHERINE JOHNSON VISITS THE LRC

Ms Ereira writes: Before Catherine Johnson arrived, one student looked at her photograph and announced in impressed tones: ‘She looks badass!’

But Catherine told us that although she enjoys writing dramatic adventurous stories, she herself is in fact rather cowardly and prefers to stay at home with her cat. Her historical romps are ‘like a daydream, imagining a whole world. My characters do things I would never do.’

She is also rather squeamish, though she’s written her share of gory scenes and hasn’t shied away from eighteenth century surgical practices.

We loved her passion for history and the surprising characters she has brought to life.

Her new book, Blade & Bone, is in the LRC. Come and find it for a fabulous historical adventure.

DUKE OF EDINBURGH’S AWARD Mr Frost writes: Well done to the 49 students in year 10 who have successfully enrolled onto the Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award Scheme. You are an enthusiastic and pleasant group of young people and I know I will thoroughly enjoy my evolvement in your development. Please use the time over Christmas, if possible, to find opportunities for volunteering, including name and contact details of the person that will validate your attendance.

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POLLY HO-HEN VISITS THE LRC

Ms Ereira writes: If ‘I’m going to try and put you off your food!’ It was an unusual opening to a lunchtime talk, but Polly Ho-Yen nobly promised to eat any stollen or other cake that her audience felt unable to stomach.

The students shared stories of disgusting experiences, which ranged from dog poo on a football to finding a placenta in the freezer. But the idea for Where Monsters Lie began with something different and equally disgusting.

Polly’s cat was a fussy eater, whose love was dependent on the right food being provided.

Despite Polly’s best efforts, there was usually a smelly bowl of uneaten cat food in her kitchen. This attracted some less picky creatures. After she had gone to bed – whatever time that was, whether it was early or late – slugs would come into the kitchen. Lots of slugs.

Several disgusting slug encounters later, she began to feel almost as though they might have a message for her. This, combined with a sense she had as a child that she would be the one to spot the Loch Ness Monster if she only concentrated hard enough, became part of what she calls the ‘brain compost’ required to create a story.

Where Monsters Lie is shortlisted for the HWS Book Award. Come and find it in the LRC to discover the gripping, disturbing and fairly disgusting result of Polly’s brain compost.

Ms Gribble writes: Congratulations to the 37 Year 12s who have been accepted onto the Silver DofE program this term. I am looking forward to going away with you all next summer for your expedition!

Issue 33

December 2016

SPORTS NEWS - HARINGEY SWIMMING GALA

SPORTS NEWS - NETBALL

Mr Adams writes: With close links to Haringey Aquatics we are very lucky to have such an array of talent amongst our Highgate Wood School students leading to events being incredibly popular, proficient and competitive.

The Haringey Borough Gala is the pinnacle of the swimming calendar and we are thrilled to announce this year we were the winners of the Year 9 Girls Team Trophy and the Year 9 Boys—and winning both by over ten points showing a dominant display from all swimmers, winning all events for this age group in every stroke and relay.

We were also runners-up in the Year 10 Boys Team Trophy, and claimed a bronze medal in the Year 10 Girls event due to excellent performances in the Individual medley and individual events by Sasha Shute.

We are so proud of all students as the standard of swimming on the day was incredibly high, and to come away the winners was truly impressive.

Congratulations to all swimmers, we look forward to seeing you at the Inter-house Gala later on in the year.

Mr Adams writes: Highgate Wood girls have had yet another successful half term competing in the Haringey league.

Our Year 8 team are unbeaten with consecutive wins against Heartlands, Grieg City and Park View Academy. The Year 7 team have gone from strength to strength increasing their goal difference by 11 goals in the last three matches and the Year 9 team demonstrating some excellent tactical play in some very close games.

The senior team have a busy Christmas week with two crucial fixtures in which a win could see them close in on league leaders Fortismere.

Good luck to the senior team. Congratulations to all the girls so far this season and Merry Christmas from the Netball coaching team Miss Osborne, Helen and Jo. See you in the New Year!

SPORTS NEWS - FOOTBALL Mr Adams writes: Once again this year Highgate Wood School girls have competed in the Haringey 5-a-side indoor football league.

This competition is always a highlight of the school calendar due to its fast paced, lively atmosphere. In this league each school attends three tournament style fixtures playing many schools from across the borough. To win it requires high levels of focus, skilful play in a small area and excellent communication.

With combined age groups it is always a challenge to work well together with the new Year 7 to be successful, therefore we are delighted that this year we were the runners-up.

Congratulations to all the Year 7 and 8 girls who competed over the three tournaments, and to the Year 7 members. We look forward to seeing you competing next year.

Issue 33

December 2016

YEAR 9 FOOTBALL Mr Sango-Ismael writes: I am pleased that our Year 9 football team have made vast improvements collectively since I first started to coach them last year. They play more as a team and with much more confidence. Also they managed to progress one round in the ESFA Playstation cup, something which they didn't achieve last year.

I always get a full squad at training on Tuesdays at lunchtime, this shows their willingness to learning and becoming better players. I am very proud to be their manager and believe that they will have more success in the future.

YEAR 7 FOOTBALL Ms Sen writes A new Year 7 boys football club will be starting in the New Year.

Students have already been contacted through their tutor groups and we expect to begin training on 12th January 2017.

From then on the club will run every Thursday.

Contact me for more details.

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School begins again for students on

Thursday 5th January 2017 at 10:50am It will be Week 2 KEY DATES Start of Spring Term

Thursday 5th January 2017

Year 12 Mock Exams

9th—13th January

Year 11 Mock Results Day

Thursday 12th January

Year 11 Parent Consultation Evening

Thursday 12th January

Year 13 Mock Exams

16th—20th January

Year 9 Parent Consultation Evening

Thursday 19th January

AS Taster Day for Year 11

Friday 20th February

Year 9 Options Evening

Thursday 26th January

PSA Meeting

Thursday 2nd February

Safer Internet Week

6th—10th February

Year 12/13 Parent Consultation Evening

Thursday 9th February

HALF TERM BREAK

13th—17th February

Kirkland Rowell Parent Survey

20th February—3rd March

School Production MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM

22nd—24th February

Year 10 Work Experience

27th February—3rd March

Model UN Conference

Saturday 11th March

Year 7 Parent Consultation Evening

Thursday 23rd March

PSA Quiz Night

27th March

End of Spring Term

Friday 31st March

SPRING 2017

SUMMER 2017

Thurs 5th January

Term Starts*

Tues 18th April

13th Feb – 17th Feb

Half term break

29th May – 2nd June Half term break

Fri 31st March

Term Ends

Fri 21st July

Term Starts*

Term Ends

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