July 2013

Summer End of Term

Year 7 News 2

Year 8 News 2

Year 9 News 3

Year 10 News 3

Year 11 News 3

Year 12 News 4

Inside this issue:

KEY DATES:

Summer Term ends

Friday 19th July

2013

Autumn Term begins

3rd September for

Y7 and Y12

(see school website

for start times)

Autumn Term begins

4th September

2013 for Years 8-

11, and Year 13

(see school website

for start times)

Headteacher’s Message This has been another exciting and

busy year for all involved with Acton

High School. There has been a great

deal to celebrate, including the

launch of our new Sixth Form, the

ongoing expansion of the Greer

Centre (which will give us the

capacity to house our first group of

Year 13 students), the successful

outcome of our Ofsted Inspection,

and, of course, the very many

wonderful events and exciting

innovations that help to make Acton

High what it is. The past few weeks

have again seen staff and students

enjoy enriching experiences in

music, sport and community

involvement. The International Day

was again a welter of colours,

flavours and sounds, the richness of

which reflect our fantastically diverse

and cohesive community. Other

activities, such as the Media Arts

Awards evening, Sports Day and the

music trip to Devon and Cornwall,

have seen students demonstrating

the level of commitment, creativity,

teamwork and resilience that makes

them a credit to the school.

I would like to express my thanks to

all the efforts of the many staff,

students and parents/carers that

have made the events the successes

they have been.

Finally a reminder of some key

dates -

Friday 19th July: last day of

summer term for all students

(finish at 12.00pm)

Tuesday 3rd September: first

day of term for Y7 and Y12 (Y7

arrive at 10.00am, Y12 arrive

at 10.30am)

Wednesday 4th September:

first day of term for Ys 8-11,

and Y13 (Ys 8-11 students to

arrive at 9.15am, Y13 students

to arrive at 8.40am)

I would like to wish all

students, parents/carers and

staff a safe and enjoyable

holiday.

Dr. Andy Sievewright

2013 Media Awards 4th July once again saw an incredibly successful night celebrating inspired and

innovative success across the curriculum with the Media Awards. There was a

fantastic turnout. Work was showcased on the big screen and outside in the foyer

where guests were treated to delicious food delivered by some very adept students

decked out in black tie! Thanks to Ms Colgan and her team for her hard work

ensuring that all guests were well catered for. All departments honoured their

creative students by showcasing the work in colourful and inspiring ways. Ms Hoyle

put in a sterling effort with her technical wizardry and fast-paced editing. The TVA

department worked incredibly hard to produce all the displays that will remain in the

foyer so that students can see their work and that of their fellow nominees. The English department has also

produced a poetry anthology from nominated students. We look forward to an even bigger celebration next year.

The Music Department took a group of fifteen students

to Devon and Cornwall on a tour of the area. The

itinerary consisted of a day with students from Bude

Haven School working on various performance projects

culminating in a group performance of Shosholosa at

the Weir in Whalesborough. Saturday was spent in

Truro, performing a set in the band stand in Victoria

Park to a very appreciative audience as well as enjoying

some free time to sample the Cornish pasties and

clotted cream ice cream. The group then travelled to

Paignton on Sunday to perform a set at the Preston Picnic, before hopping in the bus for the

journey back to London. Highlights of the weekend included an impromptu outdoor performance

at the Youth Hostel, a sandcastle building competition, numerous games of Frisbee and American

football on the beach, and the „Gorgeous‟ (an expression coined on the trip) weather.

Summer Music Tour

P a g e 2 A c t o n H i g h S c h o o l N e w s l e t t e r S u m m e r E n d o f T e r m

Year 7 Pupil Wins the Connie Mark Award We are delighted to announce that Jade Olubokun (7C) won the Connie Mark Award at the Dr John Roberts CBE

QC 9th Annual Achievement Awards on the evening of Friday July 5th. These annual achievement awards are run

by the Acton based charity Descendants, whose main aims are to create an environment where young people

primarily of African and Caribbean descent can learn to appreciate each others' cultures and traditions, to instil in

them a sense of identity and develop a true sense of pride in their heritage. Many congratulations to Jade for

winning this prestigious prize! Pupils Annicka Martin (11N) , Bradley Kipukila (10N) , and Tariq Smart (12H) were

also shortlisted for awards, with the latter being invited to become an intern for MP Angie Bray.

Earlier in the year, students from all year groups were invited to volunteer to teach IT skills to people in the community and help them

find out the benefits of getting online. Some students attended Acton Library and Oaktree Community Centre weekly and assisted at

IT classes, while others taught Internet skills at a special event in school. The students were rewarded with a concert at Wembley

arena on Wednesday 10th July. Helping others definitely has its benefits!

Community Minded Students Rewarded with Rock Assembly

7C Win Prize in Attendance Contest! In July, we introduced a prize for all students that have been working hard to get themselves into

school on time, even when they are feeling a bit under the weather. Studies have proven that

pupils with higher rates of attendance achieve higher attainment come exam time, so naturally we

would like to harness these efforts. 7C won the prize with an absolute cracker of 98.2% overall

attendance and they were asked what they would like to have, their response was simple – PIZZA!

Here is the team feasting on their prize – well done 7C!

Year 8 Success in Ealing Borough Athletics Tournament Congratulations to our winners in their achievements at the Ealing Borough Athletics Tournament at Perivale on June 25th: Zoya Styles - winner of Shot Putt

and setting a „New School Record‟. Daila Campbell - Girls‟ Discus. Kymani Perkins - Boys‟ Javelin. Hassan Ismael - Boys‟ 800m and Fabian Earle - Boys‟

300m. Here is Zoya Styles‟ account of her brilliant win: “As I walked to the throwing pitch I could hear the chants of support screaming „go on Zoya, Do us

Proud!‟. After my practise throw of 8.96m, the next throws were very good but I didn‟t know if I had done enough to win. Then they announced that I got 1st

place and I was now an Ealing Borough Champion! I walked back proudly showing off my medal to everybody.”

Year 8 Maths Flexiday On the 4th July, Year 8 students participated in a range of Maths activities ranging from investigating the winning

numbers in a Bingo game, and designing and building bridges in their classrooms, to hands-on puzzles and games

delivered in our Sports Hall by the Happy Puzzle Company. The students had to complete various challenges in

their teams. Most of the challenges lasted for no more than a few minutes, but required each team to work

together and carefully develop strategies in order to find a solution, teaching the students how to persevere and

overcome difficulties by approaching problems from different perspectives, whilst having fun too. Students were focussed and motivated for the whole day,

and everyone had a chance to show their own learning strengths. Children of all abilities were able to work co-operatively to conquer challenges whilst having

fun. It was an incredibly rewarding day for everyone. WELL DONE Year 8!

Year 7 and 8 Social Enterprise Qualification During the Spring Term a group of entrepreneurial Year 8s took part in the SEQ: The Social Enterprise Qualification. The challenges was to consult and design

stalls for International Day. In addition to researching what would work best for our diverse and vibrant school community, the students also had to think of a

charity that they would raise money for. The charity the children chose was Save the Children. The students worked incredibly hard and in doing so their efforts

were recognised by A New Direction, the organisers of the SEQ. Charlotte from A New Direction said "I am really impressed by the Acton students. When I met

them they were just buzzing with fab ideas!" Congulatulations to all the Year 7s and 8s who took part.

AHS Drums for the Acton Carnival The Acton Carnival on Saturday 6th July was the perfect opportunity for some of our Year 9

students to showcase what they have learned as part of a ten week samba drumming project in

collaboration with the London College of Music. The day was hot and some of the drums were

heavy but none of this detracted from the fantastic Brazilian inspired samba music that our

students performed along Crown Street, Acton High Street and into Acton Park. Commenting on

the performance at the carnival, Jez Wiles from London College of Music said, “Well done to us, this

event has been fantastic and a great tribute to what the Acton High students have learned from this

project. Next year will be bigger and better still!”

P a g e 3 A c t o n H i g h S c h o o l N e w s l e t t e r S u m m e r E n d o f T e r m

Year 10 Experience the World of Work Year 10 impressed us all with their

preparations for the world of work by

taking part in an exciting week of work

experience from 1st-5th of July. The work

experience programme kicked off with a

mock-interview day on 25th June, when

30 professionals from a range of local

businesses came into school to interview

the Year 10 students. All students

dressed in formal business clothing and

wowed the potential employers and the

rest of the school with their smart

presentation. The aim of the day was to

prepare them for work experience the

following week, and was supplemented by

workshops focusing on health and safety,

CV writing, and interview techniques.

The work experience was valuable for

many, and we were all extremely proud of

some of the great success stories that we

heard and of all the glowing reports that

were fed back to us;

Pavandeep Goulati and Matthew Franzozi

worked with Ealing Planning Department.

Extra mention was made of the way that

they dressed and presented themselves

during the week. They produced some

valuable work and were said to be a credit

to the school.

Dawid Tomczuk and Elias Duale were

placed at Ealing Highway Services, and

these students were reported to have

worked very hard.

Hyat Ibrahim was an absolute role model

at St. Mary‟s Catholic School. She

represented the school well and her

overall performance was described as

„excellent‟.

Reuben Edwards-Osbourne was a credit to

the school, dressing very smartly and

behaving in a very mature manner on his

placement with an estate agent in Ealing.

David Ibrahim was amongst those who

went to LEAP for his work experience due

to his placement being cancelled by his

original employer at the last minute. The

CEO of LEAP was so impressed with

David‟s mature attitude and exceptional

people skills that he was invited to an

appointment at Buckingham Palace.

We are immensely proud of our young

people for their fantastic performance in

this programme.

Ealing Readers Award 2013

Tuesday 13th June saw the final of this

year‟s Ealing Readers‟ Award. Over 50

students from nine Ealing High Schools

met at Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School

to vote for their favourite read of 2012.

The winning book was Missing Me by

Sophie McKenzie, closely followed by

Guardian Angel (Robert Muchamore),

Ratburger (David Walliams) and The

S a c r i f i c e ( C h a r l i e H i g s o n ) .

A Readers Panel from each school read

their way through the shortlist of books

decided upon from nominations from

students in Years 7, 8 and 9. Each School

championed one shortlisted book and the

audience on the day were entertained by

several lively and amusing presentations.

Author Geraldine McCaughrean came

along to talk to and encourage pupils.

Acton High School was ably represented

by Bilal Rasouli, Sufyaan Amjad, Safiya

Mohamed, Jade Olubokun, Natalia

Dabrowska and Hanan Ibrahim.

Thanks to all those students who

nominated books last autumn.

This is the 4th year that the Ealing

Readers Award has been organised by

School Librarians from Ealing High

Schools. It is one of the few awards that

is voted for by students themselves.

Acton High School Wins Regional Science and Technology Challenge Day

On Wednesday 3rd July twelve students

from Years 8 and 9 attended a Science

and Technology Day at the University of

West London. The students worked in

teams of four and involved two Acton High

students working with two students from

another Ealing school. The activities they

took part in were designed to raise their

interest in science and technology and to

increase an awareness of the application

of science. The challenges included

building electric cars, programming robots

to play football, solving crimes using the

latest forensic technology and mastering

software currently used by the police to

create E-FIT images.

Our students entered into the challenges

with great enthusiasm and demonstrated

phenomenal innovative and creative skills

so that we won two of the four challenges

of the day. Mailo Conceicao and Haris

Rabbani were in the team that won the

competition overall. This means they will

represent Ealing in the national finals.

Well done to all who took part.

Year 11 Prom and Final Festivities Year 11 have had a wonderful send off; starting with their final assembly at the end of May

and culminating with their Prom. The GCSE exams have passed successfully and the year

group are now planning for their futures.

This year‟s Prom was held at the Novotel London West in Hammersmith on Tuesday 2nd July,

and was a successful event very much enjoyed by those who attended. Everyone had made a

huge amount of effort and there were some very dapper looking young men and very elegant

young ladies who enjoyed the food and drink, and danced the night away.

P a g e 4 A c t o n H i g h S c h o o l N e w s l e t t e r S u m m e r E n d o f T e r m

School Attendance: Term Time Leave Parents are reminded that leave of absence taken during term time should always be avoided as the

time away from school will be registered as an unauthorised absence. Permission should be

requested from the Headteacher in advance prior to any arrangements for leave. The Headteacher

will consider if there are exceptional circumstances relating to the application. If leave is granted, only

the Headteacher can determine the number of school days a child can be away from school. Leave of

Absence forms can be obtained from the school office.

ABSENCES: All other absences are closely monitored at all times and will only be authorised at the

school‟s discretion. If you would like further information please speak to your child‟s Head of Year;

Pastoral Support Assistant or the Education Social Worker.

UNAUTHORISED ABSENCE: „Unauthorised absence is an absence where the reasons provided by the

parent/carer are unsatisfactory‟. Absences are monitored closely; if your child is absent on a regular

basis and has unauthorised absences of 15% or above, you may incur a Fixed Penalty Fine charge of

£120 or a prosecution for the unauthorised absences of your child.”

PLEASE CONTINUE TO SUPPORT YOUR CHILD‟S REGULAR SCHOOL ATTENDANCE.

~ Dr Andy Sievewright (Headteacher), Jakki Thompson (Education Social Worker)

For the second year running, a number of Year 11 students who

will be returning to the Sixth Form next year were taken on a trip

to St Peter‟s College, Oxford by the 6th Form team Mr Mothada

and Mr Cudmore. The idea behind the trip originated from Chair of

Governors, Guy Fiegehen, who was himself an alumnus of St

Peter‟s college, where he studied in the 1960s.

Activities on the day included a tour by current Oxford students,

mock interviews in Engineering and Economics, drop-ins with

college tutors and a pleasant walk around Oxford and a number

of other colleges. The activities gave students a good idea of what

admissions staff look for when recruiting students, and there was

a sense that this was the right time for students to visit before

they started A-Levels and well before they applied to University.

We hope that the visit will inspire students to work hard next year

so that they can possibly put in an application in October 2014.

One of the students who visited last year, David Mcinnes, recently

got accepted onto a prestigious Oxford summer school which

many suggest is harder to

get a place at than Oxford

University itself. It re-

confirmed our belief that

there are definitely students

in Year 11 and the current

Year 12s that can go onto

study at Oxford and other

top Universities.

Year 12 News: Introduction We have come to the end of a successful first year for Acton High

School‟s Sixth Form. We started the year with a 111 students and

we‟ve finished the year with a 97% retention rate which is a great

credit to both staff and students. Student attendance up until the

exam period was excellent with it averaging at 95% for Year 12.

With the new Sixth Form centre progressing and on track to open

in mid-August we are hoping for an equally positive year starting

in September with new Year 12s and also those students that will

have progressed into Year 13. Those students who have sat AS

Levels will receive results on August 15th and those who have re-

taken GCSE will get there results on August 22nd. Members of the

6th Form team will be in on both occasions to discuss and advise

students on their results. We do recommend that any students

who do not believe they will pass three Level 3 courses apply to

other colleges as they will not meet the criteria to enter Year 13.

We wish students all the best for their results in the summer and

hope to see as many back in September as possible.

Attention Turns to University Since the last AS Level exam was sat on the 14th June, attention

has switched to applying to university. Students who are applying

for Oxford, Cambridge and Medical courses will need to apply by

October 15th while all other students will be encouraged to

submit applications by the middle of November. On the 4th July

flexiday students were in workshops which helped to explain how

to apply to University and write personal statements while

providing students with UCAS logins. Students will be able to

chose five courses/higher education institutions when they apply.

Throughout the last nine months the Year 12 team has attempted

to explain and allay possible fears over Higher Education. A lot of

time has been spent on explaining the £9,000 per year dreaded

tuition fees which has dominated coverage on Universities over

the last couple of years. We‟ve also held a Higher Education

evening for parents and guardians and invited several guests into

school to talk about general Higher Education issues.

On the 21st June we took fifty students via coach to Reading

University‟s open day. Thankfully the weather was kind and

students walked around campus all day visiting stalls, general

information talks and individual subject areas. For most, it was

the first time they were able to have a look round halls of

residences and hear from University professors about what

studying at University is like. We recommend that students try and

visit as many open days as possible before applying to their

chosen institutions. If a student wants to visit an open day, but

feel they are struggling financially to pay for transport, please get

in touch and we‟ll see what we can do to help. If you have any

questions regarding Higher Education please get in contact with

the Year 13 team.

New 6th Form Students Visit Oxford University

on holiday