insight 20

News from Highgate Wood School arts college

CONSIDERATION COOPERATION COURTESY CONTRIBUTION Issue No 20 October 2014

WELL DONE! HARD WORK PAYS OFF!

Issue 20. October 2014

2

The new school year is now well

underway, so a big welcome to all

new students and parents. I hope

you are beginning to take

advantage of all the opportunities

our school offers.

As well as looking forward, we

have been celebrating another great set of GCSE

and A level results - some fantastic individual

achievements and overall a continuing

consolidation of the improvements the school has

made in recent years.

Many more students are now getting good grades

and the opportunities those bring.

Well done all, and huge thanks also to our teachers

who as ever have gone out of their way to support

all our students, including having to deal with

sudden changes in government exam policy.

There's no room for complacency though, and

governors have looked closely at the results so that

we can ensure the school continues to give proper

attention to areas where further improvement is

needed.

Success at school, whether in exams or other

activities, is always the result of a partnership,

between students, teachers and, crucially, parents

- so I hope we can all continue to work together to

keep up high standards, of commitment, discipline

and attendance, so that we can all look forward to

another successful year.

Cover picture: The cover features the faces of some of our students at GCSE results day in August. We are delighted that so many students met and exceeded their target grades at GCSE and A Level. More information within Insight.

Chair of Governors:

Charles Wright (Community Governor)

Vice Chair:

Imogen Pennell (Representative Governor)

Representative Governors:

Cllr Eddie Griffith • Oliver Blackaby • Brenda Allan

Parent Governors:

Diana Brown • Philip Cavendish • Elizabeth Hess • Chris

Tully • Rob White • Julia Chalfen • Paul Bennett

Community Governors:

Phil Cocksedge • Caroline Conlon • Violet Hazelwood-

Henry • Chris Parr •

Headteacher Governor:

Patrick Cozier

Staff Governors:

Audra Daws-Knowles • Emily Ford • Joe Demetriou

If you wish to contact the Governing Body please write to the

Chair of Governors, c/o Mrs K Ozturk, Highgate Wood School,

Montenotte Road, London N8 8RN ([email protected])

HIGHGATE WOOD SCHOOL GOVERNING BODY

GOVERNING BODY UPDATE

Arabella Weir writes:

The HWS lottery - a really easy way to raise funds

for much needed extra-curricular items the school

budget can't stretch to.

If every parent/carer at Highgate Wood School

bought just one lottery ticket (a year at a cost of

only £12 per year) we'd raise over £14,000 a year!

Last year the lottery helped pay for two huge

trampolines, a school minibus and much, much

more.

So, please, buy just one ticket, it'll cost you only

ONE £ a month! For details please email Arabella or

Jane at [email protected].

With 5th November on the horizon please be

aware that the school has very clear rules about

fireworks. No student should handle any fireworks

and under no circumstances are fireworks allowed

on the school site. Any infringement of these rules

will be dealt with very severely.

IMPORTANT NOTICE ABOUT FIREWORKS

mailto:[email protected]


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..

MESSAGE FROM THE HEADTEACHER

Welcome to the first edition

of Insight for the Academic

Year. To those who are new to

us as parents/carers of Year 7

students... Welcome!

As this is my first time of

writing to you all I will take

this opportunity to express my

hope that you have all had an enjoyable summer.

However that is a long way past now and we are

approaching the end of the first half term. I hope

very much that your child has had a good and

positive start to the term.

Good Exam Results!

In the summer we again received a very good set of

exam results. We are very pleased that we were

able to sustain the high level of performance that

we have achieved over the last four years, and we

are particularly happy that the overwhelming

majority of our students achieved their full

potential with some excellent individual results.

The headline figures are shown in the table below.

GCSE 2014: How We Did Overall

5 A*-C (EM) 68%

5 A*-C 81%

Eng. Baccalaureate 28%

Up until 2010 it would have been reasonable to

have described us as a ‘50% school’. I am

particularly proud that over the last three years the

first four groups to pass all the way through the

school from Year 7 to 11 during my headship have

responded well to our high expectations and

excellent teaching and propelled us into a school

you could now describe as a ‘70% school’.

Similarly, at A Level the levels of attainment keeps

getting better and better. We are yet again

celebrating our best ever results, and as always our

Year 13 students have been able to secure places at

some of the best universities up and down the

country.

A level trends over the years

I would like to congratulate the students from last

year’s Year 11 and Year 13 on these good results. I

would also like to thank my brilliant staff who

worked so hard and with such passion and

commitment to ensure that our students were

supported to do their best. A good effort all round,

and we at Highgate Wood School have much to be

very proud of!

Our School Development Plan Targets

For the coming year, the school development plan

targets are focused around four overall priorities

for as shown below.

Securing Outstanding Achievement and

Progress

Securing Outstanding Teaching and Learning

Securing Outstanding Leadership and

Management

Securing Outstanding Behaviour and Safety

These priorities, and how we are moving towards

them, will be given in more detail in future issues

of Insight.

Uniform Focus

One aspect of our development is the consistent

implementation of the school uniform policy. This

has probably been the most visible focus to parents

since we arrived back in September, but it is far

from the only priority.

As you will no doubt be aware, we have been very

strict in maintaining the highest of expectations of

our students in terms of their self-presentation.

This has involved insisting on smart formal

2006 2010 2007 2008 2009 2011 2012 2013 2014

56% 71% 61% 66% 71% 78% 79% 83% 83% A-C

93% 98% 94% 97% 97% 97% 98% 100% 100% A-E

GCSE A*-C (inc English & maths)


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footwear, ensuring that top-buttons are done up

and that ties are worn with the knots right up to

the top, shirts are tucked in and that skirts are

unrolled.

The difference that this focus has made is

staggering. The cooperation of our students and

parents/carers has been fantastic and

consequently the standard of presentation has

improved dramatically.

There remain a few students (around 50 to 60 out

of 1200 uniform wearing students) who continue

to resist the changes, but with weekly uniform

detentions in place, that number is dwindling

rapidly. I would like to take this opportunity to

thank all parents and carers for their support in

helping us make these improvements.

New Staff

We recruited really well since I last wrote to you in

a number of key positions across the school.

In English: Ms A. Ahmet

Mr M. Gowen

Ms S. Johnson

Ms R. Monaghan

Ms E. Sayer

Ms I. Sen

In Maths: Ms J. Gribble

Mr F. Manners

Ms A. Nelson

In Science: Mr D. Carmichael

Ms T. Fenttiman

In Geography: Mr D. Grimmett

Mr E. Thomas

In Computer Science:Ms E. Brown

In Social Sciences: Mr M. Cousins

In Music: Mr F. Lee

Ms E. Ugboma

In Drama: Mr K. Larkin

In PE: Ms G. Ward

In ECS & Philosophy: Mr J. Pedlar

In Technology: Ms D. Sinada

LRC Manager: Ms Eriera

Learning Support Advisors: Ms A. Chaudhury

Ms R. Morgan

Medical Needs Officer: Ms T. Copley

Isolation Room Officer: Ms L. Woodstock

Science Technician: Mr G. De Cicco

I am confident in the quality of the staff that we

have recruited and promoted, and I have no doubt

that through your children’s experience of them

during this first half term, you will have very

positive stories about the impact that they are

already starting to make. I wish them long and

successful careers here at Highgate Wood School.

Open Evenings and Mornings – A Positive Start to

the Year

We held our Open Evening on Thursday 9th

October and followed this up with three Open

Mornings the following week (14th, 15th and 16th

October) for all prospective Year 6 students and

their families to come and view the school. I was

really pleased with the very large number of people

that attended each event and even more so with

the extremely positive feedback that we received.

The popularity of Highgate Wood School has

steadily grown over the last few years (with over

1000 parental preferences for the last two years),

and I am proud that more and more we are

considered by our community as the local school of

choice.

The best element of the feedback that I received

however, were comments about our staff and

students. The number of people who fed back

positively about the good vibe of the school was

heartening. They noted the incredible keenness of

our students who contributed positively on the

evenings and mornings by being tour guides or

helping out in departments – and the pride that

they showed in their school.

Sixth Form Recruitment

Similarly, our sixth form admissions have gone very

well again this year. We have 263 students in the

sixth form, compared to last year’s total at this

stage of 268


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Total number of students enrolled in Sixth Form

Year 12: 137 students (154 at enrolment last year)

Year 13 & 14 : 126 students (114 at enrolment last

year)

Number of students originally from Highgate

Wood School

Year 12: 116 (which represents about 70% of our

students who achieved grades good enough to

study A Levels at HWS)

Year 13 & 14: 123

Number of external students recruited

Year 12: 21

Year 13: 3

When it is considered that overall numbers in the

sixth form were as low as 170 students in 2011, we

have reason to be pleased with the fact that we

are sustaining a healthy number of students at

post 16.

This means that more Highgate Wood students

than ever before are making the positive decision

to stay on and complete their A levels in our sixth

form, and equally vital, more students from other

Haringey schools and beyond are choosing to join

us. We are incredibly pleased with the number of

students that we have recruited and we believe

that this is another affirmation that our popularity

as a school continues to increase as students and

parents recognise the positive and successful

experiences we provide.

Safeguarding Incident from the early 1980s

Many of you will be aware of the conviction of Mr

Andrew Adams (a former PE teacher and Assistant

Headteacher at Highgate Wood School) in July for

historical child sexual offences that occurred in the

early 1980s. The issue was reported widely in the

local and national press during the summer

following his sentencing on the 18th July and I sent

a letter to all parents on that day informing them

of the conviction.

Mr Adams retired from Highgate Wood School in

2004, but continued to support the school in a

voluntary capacity periodically from 2004 to 2010.

This support was in a variety of ways, such as

helping the school to run our work experience

programmes and supporting and training our staff

in the coaching of hockey. No concerns have

emerged from any students or staff past or present

about Mr Adams’ conduct during this period of

time .

Should you have any such concerns or wish to

bring anything to our attention we ask that you

contact the school on 020 8 342 7970 or e-mail the

school for the attention of the Headteacher using

the e-mail address [email protected].

I would like to reassure parents that at HWS our

child protection and safeguarding procedures are

excellent and have been reviewed and commented

upon positively by all external validating bodies

over the last few years. All of our staff undergo all

of the expected criminal checks and vetting on

appointment and these are repeated annually for

all existing members of staff.

... And Finally

As always, the autumn term is very busy and you

will find lots of information in this issue of Insight

to give you a flavour of some of the things that

have been happening at Highgate Wood School as

well as some useful prompts of things that are on

the horizon.

I would also like to thank you for your continued

support – it is very much valued.

Regards

Patrick Cozier

Headteacher


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Ms Christodoulou: We

are really pleased to

confirm that our school

attendance figures rose

to 94.8% for the

academic year 2013-14.

This represents an increase in our rate of

attendance of 1.9% against a national increase of

0.8%. What this means is that more students are

in school, benefiting from lessons that are being

taught, and experiencing more of what the school

has to offer, on a more regular basis.

Tutors and Deputy Heads of House have worked

particularly hard to support the improvement in

student attendance. When students and their

parents/carers need help and support to improve

their personal situations they are guided by our

very experienced Early Intervention and Welfare

Officer, Mr Worth.

We are working hard to reward students who have

very good attendance as well as those making

sustained improvements. We also look carefully at

the reasons that are supplied following each

student absence and we get in touch with parents/

carers when we feel further discussion need to take

place.

Our Attendance Officer, Ms King says: “If your child

is unable to attend school you should telephone

the school on the same day. Please give your child's

name and their tutor group. Your child should then

bring a note from you on their return to school. I

can be contacted via the school switchboard on

0208 342 7970 or email [email protected]

Mr Worth writes: The Government have again told

schools that to discourage absence in term time,

parents and carers can no longer apply for

“holidays”. Parents and carers can now only apply

to Head Teachers for leave in “exceptional

circumstances”. A form is available from the school

office for this purpose.

If there is persistent absence for minor illness not

covered by medical evidence, we will ask parents

for permission to refer students to the school nurse

for assessment and advice.

ATTENDANCE

Mr Hartley writes:

I would like to extend a massive congratulations

to the students, teachers and families of the GCSE

Class of 2014.

There were some fantastic achievements by

individuals, as well as impressive results by the

yeargroup as a whole.

HEADLINE FIGURES

5+ GCSEs at A*- C (including English and Maths): 68%

5+ A*-C grades: 81.3%

Ebacc: 28%

77% of students meeting or exceeding their

expected levels of progress from KS2 in English.

81% of students meeting or exceeding their

expected levels of progress from KS2 in maths.

25 students achieving 10+ A*-A

34% of students received top A* and A grades in

English


maths

70% or more of students received top A* and A

grades in Triple Science subjects.


Spanish


Music

GCSE RESULTS 2014

Well Done!


7

HOUSE LEAGUE TABLES

Top Vivo Earners

William Carmichael

Rebecca Manoharan

Ellice Almeida

Che Ove-Loncraine

Adbihakim Nooh

Top Vivo Earners

Freddie Ferszt

Brandon Durand

Mya Gomez

Randal Harrison

Odeja Anderson

Top Vivo Earners

Adwoa Boateng

Euan Escott

Elle-Mae Netherton

Kiehm Asare-Sonkour

Joshua Akonto

The best way to predict the future is to invent it

From caring comes courage

Success comes from perseverance

9,711 so far this year



Tracey Copley, Medical Needs Assistant writes:

Children who attend school regularly are more

likely to achieve at school and the most common

reason given for children to miss school is illness

and in many cases assumed illness. We need the

support of all parents/carers to encourage their

children to attend school despite sometimes

feeling a little under the weather. Please remember

that early morning aches often pass, so don’t keep

your child at home “just in case” when they could

be learning in class. Put a note in their planner or

call the school and we will phone you if your child

continues to have symptoms.

It is important we have up-to-date contact details

should we need to contact you during the day.

Please send in any amendments to the school

contact register as soon as possible. Should your

child suffer from any long term condition that

requires medication, for example asthma, please

ensure they have their own medication with them

at all times and provide school with spare

medication in case of emergencies. Short term

courses of antibiotics can be brought into school

and kept in the medical room for students to self-

medicate along with a note from home indicating

timings and dosage. If your child should require

pain relief at any point please send this into school

complete with written permission and dosage

required.

Where possible arrange doctor, dentist or optician

appointments outside of school hours.

If your child is suffering from genuine illness, please

contact school before 9.30 on each and every day

of absence by leaving a message on the Attendance

line: 020 8342 7970 giving clear reasons for the

absence.

Thank you for your support

SHOULD I COME TO SCHOOL?


8

HALF-TERM IN HARINGEY

There are a wide range of activities to keep you

busy over the half term, from auditioning to be a

radio presenter or learning new arts and crafts, to

taking part in multisport activities or mastering a

new skill or technique.

A booklet giving details of what is available can be

downloaded from the Haringey website.

Visit: http://bit.do/haringeyhalfterm

Mr Ekstrom writes:

The Winter Concert Audition Box is now in position

outside the Music office in the Drum.

Anyone at Highgate Wood School is welcome to

apply for an audition by filling in a slip detailing

who they are, what instrument they are playing,

and what song they are performing.

The auditions themselves will take place after

school 11th, 12th, and 13th of November in D5.

James (Jim) McIntyre Smith, the Headteacher of

Highgate Wood School from 1979 to 1997, died

peacefully at St Christopher’s Hospice Sydenham

on 1st October.

His funeral will take place on Friday 24th October

at Hither Green Crematorium. He asked for no

flowers but expressed a wish for those who knew

him to make a donation to Macmillan Cancer Care

if they desired. The school has made a contribution

to that charity in Mr. Smith’s memory and extend

our condolences to his family and friends.

WINTER CONCERT 2014

JIM SMITH


9

Mr Talbert writes:

In July Highgate Wood School had been selected as

one of ten schools to run a new initiative called

Digital Schoolhouse. The Digital Schoolhouse

project gives local year 5 and 6 pupils an exciting

opportunity to attend a free educational day at

Highgate Wood School. The Digital Schoolhouse

project has been developed by UK Interactive

Entertainment (UKie) and supported by the Mayor

of London.

The project has recently gained national and

international recognition for its pioneering

initiatives in the teaching of ICT and Computing to

primary school pupils and the wider public

audience.

The day is aimed at upper key stage 2 pupils and

offers a variety of lessons to meet your school’s

individual curriculum needs. The lessons have been

mapped to the new Computing Programmes of

Study as well as the CAS Progression Pathways and

Computational Thinking Framework. All lessons

have cross and creative curriculum links to the core

and foundation subjects.

In September, Highgate Wood School had the

pleasure of running pilot workshops with Rokesley

Junior School. Year 5 and 6 students participated in

the pilot workshop “Get with the Algo-rhythm”.

PRIMARY SCHOOL PROGRAMMERS This workshop explored the concept of algorithm

through the use of dance. Pupils experienced other

activities to help with their development of their

understanding of algorithms with the use of the

visual programming language Scratch, flowcharts

and through a card trick.

Digital Schoolhouse will be open to other local

Primary schools from November with two new

workshops being offered in addition to “Get with

the Algo-rhythm”. These are “Funky Maths

Calculator” and “Programming with Kodu”. To book

a workshop primary schools can go to

www.digitalschoolhouse.org.uk or contact Highgate

Wood School directly at

[email protected].

YEAR 9 DRAMA PRODUCTION 2015

Ms Sayer writes:

Year 9 students have already begun preparing for

our spring production of Jean Anouilh's 'Antigone'.

Auditions took place just before the half-term

break.

The play is an adaptation of the Greek tragedy and

will give students the opportunity to experience a

very different genre of theatre.

The play will be performed in March. Any Year 9

student who missed the auditions but would like to

be involved should contact me as soon as they can.


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HISTORY TRIP TO SOAS

Eliane Vitoriano writes:

The trip to London University’s School of Oriental

and African Studies was an influential programme

that enlightened the students that attended and

demonstrated the rich history and language that

Africa holds.

Two important and humorous lectures covered the

re-presentation of Africa and the history of

migration of Africans. Lessons that followed

discussed popular languages such as Swahili and

other topics including dance and hip hop history.

We also interacted with many of the ambassadors

and other teachers/ students within the university

which gave us the opportunity to explore the

knowledge and expertise that SOAS holds.

All of us came back from the journey refreshed and

filled with new information which we hope will

now help us acknowledge the fact that we have

only cracked the surface of a whole rich history and

culture that lives and thrives in the continent of

Africa.

Ms Harding writes:

Several Year 10 students attended a conference at

SOAS in October celebrating the History, Culture

and Languages of Africa. It was part of a celebration

for Black history month.

Students were able to listen to two mini lectures

about African history and how Africa is represented.

They were also involved in workshops which gave

them a further insight to African culture, language,

and art.

This opportunity also gave the pupils an idea of

what it would be like to study at university.

Each student gained a great amount from the day,

and it was encouraging to see them get involved in

the workshops and lectures.

Thank you to each student that was involved.

Mr Talbert writes:

Studio Director of TT Games, Tom Stone creators of

the Lego games visited Highgate Wood School in

October to launch the Computer Science

department’s new academic year of clubs. He also

took part in a special assembly for Year 7 students

about the game industry, how TT Games developed

the popular Lego games and their recent

development of their new Lego game “Lego

Batman 3: Beyond Gotham”.

The talk was both inspirational and educational

with students gaining a better insight into how the

games industry works. This is the first of a series of

special computer science assemblies from the

games industry with Miles Jacobson OBE from

Sports Interactive creators of the Football Manager

games next to visit in early 2015 and many others.

LEGO GAMES COMES TO HWS


11

8:35

11:10

14:00

Time

Break

Lunch

ECS

IT Spanish

Chemistry

Wed 3rd Dec

Break

Lunch

English Language

No Exam

Biology

Mon 1st Dec

Break

Lunch

Maths

Economics

Biology

Tues 2nd Dec

Break

Lunch

Maths

Economics French

Physics

Thu 4th Dec

Break

Lunch

English Literature

Geography

No Exam

Fri 5th Dec

Break

Lunch

8:35

11:10

14:00

Time

Break

Lunch

Drama

Physics

Geography

Wed 10th Dec

Break

Lunch

Music\

Food Tech\Dance

Biology

PE

Mon 8th Dec

Break

Lunch

History

Chemistry

Psychology

Tues 9th Dec

Break

Lunch

Resistant

Materials Textiles

Philosophy

Sociology

Thu 11th Dec

Break

Lunch

Geography

Geography CA

Geography CA

Fri 12th Dec

Break

Lunch

YEAR 11 MOCK EXAMS IN DECEMBER

Mr Demetriou writes:

This is the draft timetable for the Year 11 Mock

Exams in December. Students will be kept

informed of any changes that might be made.

Please remember that the Mock Exams are carried

out exactly the same as the actual examinations.

You must arrive in good time, remain silent in the

examination room and ensure that any phones or

other devices are switched off and handed in to the

invigilators.

Please ensure that you have the equipment that is

required for the examination, and that you bring a

spare pen and pencil.

Good luck!

Mr Ashman writes:

One of the best ways to prepare for examinations

is to use SAMLearning.

All Highgate Wood School students have an

account for SAMLearning. Your username and

password are the same: your date of birth followed

by your initials (eg 020998ZG). The centre ID is

N8HW. Their website address is

www.samlearning.com

Any problems logging on please email

[email protected].

EXAM PREPARATION


12

Ms Christodoulou writes:

It gives us great pleasure to announce that we have

been awarded the International School Award for

the third time.

This prestigious award is made by the British Council

in recognition of the excellent work done across the

school to embed the global dimension and

internationalism into our curriculum. The award

accredits the school for the next three years.

The external assessors who evaluated our

application stated:

“The Impact Evaluation is absolutely excellent and a

credit to your school. It is refreshing and

encouraging to see the level of commitment and

passion that you have dedicated to your

international education programme over the years

that you have been engaged in it. Every activity is

completely cross-curricular and they are all

appropriately linked with global themes that have

resulted in this excellent work.

Your ability to embed internationalism into your

curriculum in such an apparently effortless manner

clearly demonstrates your understanding of the

principles and mechanisms of international learning.

THIRD ISA AWARD FOR HWS Your whole cross-curricular approach to your work

and the way you have linked your activities to

relevant global themes provide scope for stimulating

work while ensuring that the quality and details

remain consistent with the requirements of the ISA.

One of the most striking aspects of your evaluation

is the fact that the activities and the global themes

you have chosen to explore all fit seamlessly into the

fabric of the curriculum as though by design. Your

school is a very good example of how to guide your

international work through clearly planned and

delivered activities across an extensive cross-

curricular platform.

We are looking forward to finding further ways to

integrate global themes into the curriculum and for

promoting the values linked with these.

Mr Robertson writes:

On 9th - 10th December, a student delegation from

Highgate Wood School will be attending the 19th

Global Classrooms London: Model UN conference.

The theme is "Every Child… Everywhere" and

celebrates 25 years since the adoption of the UN

Convention on the Rights of the Child.

To prepare for the event, each student has been

given a country to represent and a topic to

research and debate. Their discussions will cover a

wide variety of different areas - poverty and power;

inequality & education; health & conflict - and by

the close of the conference they will be expected

to have reached resolutions which set out a future

world that is more fair and free for millions of

children.

I am sure you will wish them success as they

prepare to represent our school in the global

community.

MODEL UN: 25 YEARS OF UNCRC


13

YEAR 11 IN VALENCIA

Ms Gomez writes:

I am very excited to report that the Modern

Foreign Languages Department is taking 20 Year 11

students to Valencia, in Spain. We will be there

from the 23rd to 29th October which means that

the students will enjoy seven days of total

immersion in the Spanish culture whilst embracing

the opportunity to practise our language skills.

We plan to take full advantage of everything the

programme has to offer, including Spanish lessons

as well as other subjects (Science, Media Studies

and Food Technology) being taught in the target

language (based on the CLIL pedagogy). Moreover,

there will be adventure activities and sports,

including rafting.

This is a major opportunity to learn Spanish

through doing everyday activities and a sure way of

enjoying the half-term.

I am sure all the students will benefit from this

opportunity and look forward to them reporting

on their experiences in the next issue of Insight.

NATIVE FRENCH SPEAKERS WANTED

The MFL Department is looking for a native French speaker to hold one-to-one conversations with our A Level French students. Please contact Ms Lacroix ([email protected]) for details.

YEAR 7 WRITERS

Ms Monaghan writes:

I have been thoroughly

impressed by the work

of our Year 7 students.

They began the term exploring autobiographical

writing and have been able to apply themselves to

their own stories with skill and talent. As the

extracts below demonstrate, many have already

begun to discover their “authors’ voice”.

The hot, humid air makes you sweat. It’s 9:00 pm.

You are tired, but you scream anyway. Wembley.

England vs Brazil. February 2013...

Ben Millard

It started to get seriously windy, which made it

very hard to keep control of our bikes. Twigs,

sticks, stones and leaves were flying all over the

place, bashing against our bikes.

After about ten minutes the forest looked like a

teenagers bedroom that hadn’t been cleaned for

months. There were branches that had fallen from

the trees and huge muddy puddles all over the

trails.

Kelton Ryland

“How is he?” my dad asked nervously.

Fingers crossed, I waited for her reply.

“He’s OK” she said reassuringly.

Her words were ringing in my ears.

“Yes, yes” I cried, it was the happiest moment of

my life. He was OK.

Nyah Patel-Durasamy

We quickly had breakfast, then went straight to

our first activity. We walked around a giant

gleaming lake on brilliant emerald grass, through

valleys and over the ebony stones.

Billy Owen

The day had come and I was going to be a

bridesmaid for my uncle’s wedding. I could feel the

excitement chilling up my spine.

Yasemin Ozalcin


14

Ms El Damanawi writes:

In celebration of Black History Month our science

students, of all ages, have been encouraged to

broaden their appreciation with a challenge set for

them to identify up to 14 scientists, from around

the world. These included the scientist who

proved insects could hear, the father of the blood

bank, the patentee of peanut butter, the inventor

of traffic signalling and the doctor who performed

the first open heart surgery!

Winners of the challenge will be announced early

next term.

BLACK HISTORY MONTH


Our Year 12 Chemists and Biologists ended the term

attending the Annual Daniell Lecture at King’s

College London.

Professor Dame Carol Robinson of Oxford

University, a world leader in developing new

chemical techniques to study the flexibility of

proteins, shared her knowledge of how our 22,000

genes make our bodies work.

The key to solving the mystery appears to be in the

different ways proteins fold, and how that

influences moving, signalling and secreting

hormones.

Research is still ongoing and perhaps our flourishing

cohort of scientists will help us better understand

this in the years to come.

PROTEINS - OUR FLEXIBLE FRIENDS

As well as the opportunity to hear from female

MPs, Journalists and archaeologists, we were given

the chance to interact with other students who

were attending the conference, sharing ideas,

experiences and building friendships. We even got

a free gingerbread woman!

Participating in such event was hugely

inspirational. It made us believe that as women we

have the ability to be powerful in whatever area of

employment we wish to pursue. It also exposed us

to the challenge we may have to face.

The visit encouraged us to explore possibilities that

are open to us as 21st century women that were

not possible before. It also gave us an insight into

inequalities that still exist between men and

women in the workplace.

The final message from the conference was the

importance of passion and how to use your passion

to aspire and achieve in everything you do.

Rosa Tully & Lucy Carter write:

On 10th October a group of 10 HWS feminists

visited the Queen Elizabeth conference hall to

celebrate 50 years of Mulberry School for Girls.

The experience included three panels of hugely

powerful and successful women discussing power,

possibility and passion.


15


The search for the best Year 10 chemists is on!

The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is looking for

a team of four talented chemists to represent our

local area.

Interested students need to turn up in teams of

four and answer rigorous questions based on

chemistry. Some parts will undoubtedly be tricky,

but the principle is that four heads should be

better than one! All entries will be put forward to

the RSC, in an effort to find our champion

Chemists. The winner from each local area will be

offered a place in the South-East Regional Final of

the Chemistry Challenge to be held at a London

University in the spring of 2015.

Look out for more notices around the Science

Department or talk to your science teacher for

more information!

YEAR 10 CHEMISTRY CHALLENGE LAUNCH

Ms Daws-Knowles writes

This term the A2 students of Media Studies have

begun their critical investigations after two very

productive study days at the BFI Reuben Library

along with their teachers Ms Pinnick and Ms DK.

At the Southbank, students have access to a huge

collection of books, journals, documents as well as

audio recordings about the world of film and

television. Their topics range from the James Bond

film franchise, the Watershed, women in Sitcoms

as well as celebrity endorsement and advertising to

children. Last year our students achieved a 95% A-C

pass rate and we are confident that our graduates

of 2015 will be equally awarded.

STUDY AT THE BFI

MEDICINE WORKSHOP

Madeleine Baron write:

Earlier this term a group of medical students from

King’s College London visited our school and gave

us an insight into studying medicine and what

training to be a doctor is all about.

Year 10 students had a really interesting time

learning how to take blood from a patient,

measure blood pressure and even how to do

stitches.

All the students were extremely helpful and

answered all our questions about what it is like to

be a medical student and study medicine.


16

Mr Adams writes:

After a year and half of fundraising, sponsorship

and blood, sweat and tears we eventually left

Heathrow Airport on the 27th July for Kuala

Lumpur (via 2 days in Dubai). The six Highgate

Wood sixth form students and I knew what was in

store over the coming weeks, but we didn’t realise

how life changing it would be to the young

adventurers.

Over the two weeks spent in Malaysia we aimed to

trek, build, work in the community, sightsee and

relax in one of the most majestic countries in the

world. Within 24 hours of landing in KL we were

already starting our first trek. Our plan was to walk

through a very dense jungle in search of a

waterfall. With wavering levels of fitness, 30

degree heat, 90% humidity and very steeps hills it

was a challenge. But it was all worth it in the end.

The waterfall was superb and the first challenge

allowed everyone to feel a massive sense of

achievement.

The following few days saw the group travel to the

north of Malaysia, in search of elephants. Arriving

in Kuala Ghandar we were driven to a government

owned elephant sanctuary where they look after

injured and orphaned elephants from all over South

East Asia. The highlights from our three days there

was bathing the elephants in the adjacent river,

building enclosures, and feeding the two month old

calf called Lanchang.

With a teary departure, we headed north to take

part in some white water rafting on the river Sungai

Perak. It was an amazing experience rafting down

category 3/4 rapids.

Once dried, the party took part in a two day trek in

the Cameron Highlands. The Highlands are famous

for their tea plantations, and some of the most

breath taking views in the world. It was “Scotland

with a rain forest”.

That trek was an incredible way finish a trip of a

lifetime. Every single sixth former, whether they

were heading to university or staying here at

Highgate Wood School walked away with a huge

sense of self achievement and memories which will

never leave.

We are very proud to announce the World

Challenge Adventure will be to Southern Morocco

departing in 2016.

WORLD CHALLENGE—MALAYSIA


17

Ms Eisa writes:

Over the course of the summer holidays 11 of our

dedicated students travelled to South Africa with

Hillcrest Aids Trust.

They travelled to Hillcrest, an hour outside Durban,

where they were placed with host families who

looked after them for three weeks. They were

lucky enough to be taken on safari to the Hluhluwe

game reserve for two days where they had the

pleasure of seeing lions, rhinos, giraffes and

elephants. The aim of the trip was not only to

experience such an interesting country and learn

about its history, but also to give something back to

the community. The students along with 11

students from Davenant school in Essex were given

the immense task of refurbishing 8 classrooms at

Umphumela primary school in the township of the

Valley of 1000 Hills.

While carrying out these refurbishments the

students were also required to teach the year 6 and

7 township students; Maths, English, Music, Art,

Drama and PE.

SIXTH FORM IN SOUTH AFRICA

The students carried out not only the

refurbishments but also the teaching with such

commitment and energy. They have made new

friends and have created memories that will stay

with them for life. .

Blue Weiss writes:

On 1st of December,

we will be launching

the new school newspaper. The paper will be a

chance for the 6th form students of Highgate Wood

to offer a student perspective on modern society.

We will have subjects ranging from politics to sport

to film to fashion. It will be covering anything from

the voting age, to the Arsenal score, to the

Kardashians.

Currently we are seeking a name for the paper and

if anyone has any names or other suggestions

please email us at

[email protected]. The best

name may well be used in our first issue. Moreover

as a note to parents reading this, we will be selling

advertising space in the paper. If parents are

interested in advertising in the paper please email

us too. We look forward to your suggestions,

hearing what you think of our work.

Make sure to get a copy!

SCHOOL NEWSPAPER

Mr Dobrashian writes:

You may have heard that there have been many

changes to the way SEN and Disability Support is

now provided in the UK.

We have already put some information in the form

of FAQs on the school website, and we will also be

holding coffee mornings and an information

evening for parents and carers early in the new

half-term.

More details will be available shortly on the school

website.

SEN INFORMATION MORNINGS


18

Libby Archer writes

This term the HWS feminists have been able to

share experiences and learn about various issues,

as well as being fortunate enough to have guest

speakers coming to the school.

Holly Baxter and Rhiannon Cosslett are the

founders of an online blog that focusses on the

portrayal of women in the media . Since their site

was logged viewership Within a year of the website

being launched, the readership reached upwards of

8 million.

Holly and Rhiannon came to visit in October and

spoke to us about their book, “The Vagenda: A Zero

Tolerance Guide To The Media”, which was inspired

by their website. They discussed how subliminal

messages come to us through the media and how

we can learn to spot them and make our own

judgements.

The talk was informative and inspiring, providing us

with a new perspective on how to view the media.

VISITING SPEAKERS YEAR 7 - HELP TO START SAVING £20

Haringey Council and the London Capital Credit

Union, a local community-owned savings co-

operative are working together to help promote

ethical saving and borrowing across north London.

As part of this initiative Haringey Council will put

£20 into every School Savers account that is

opened by students starting secondary school this

year.

An information pack is being circulated to all Year

7s which explains how they can open an account

and claim their £20, which will be “locked in” for

two years to encourage them to build a savings

habit.

TONERS AND INK

Ms Bucktowar writes:

The school has signed up with the “recycle for

schools” scheme which recycles print toners.

The company will be sending boxes for the school

to use will our printers, but they also supply bags

which students can take home to use to recycle

toner from their own printers.

As well as helping the environment the school will

receive money back for any original sent.

The bags will arrive after half-term and will be

available from the Wren office. For more

information visit: www.recyclingforschools.co.uk

Mr Ashman writes:

Digital technologies and the

internet have transformed our

lives. But for our children it

isn’t a change. They ‘ve never known

anything different.

Free access to all sorts of information, 24 hour

instant communication, on-line relationships and

liaisons, aliases and new identities. These things

are the norm.

How we protect them and keep them safe in this

new world is a concern for everyone, and the

school is now running another Parent Information

Evening to discuss the issue and hopefully provide

some guidance and support.

More information will be distributed shortly. The

planned date is :

Wednesday 19th November at 7:00 pm.

PARENT INFORMATION

CYBER SAFETY


19

A LEVEL EXAM RESULTS

Mr Charlesworth writes:

The local press was filled with news of our

students’ successes at A Level with another

excellent year for our sixth form.

83% of all courses examined achieved grade A* to

C and over half achieved top A*, A or B grades .

Government and Politics, History, Maths, Physics,

Sociology, Further Maths, Chemistry, Biology,

Psychology and Business Studies all did particularly

well, but every subject could boast of their own

individual successes.

This year students from our sixth form will be

taking degrees in a extraordinarily wide range of

subjects, from the traditional areas such as

History, Politics, Economics, Maths and English to

the sciences in Biochemistry, Zoology and

Biological Sciences, Physics.

Other popular options are Psychology and Media

Studies while a record number of art students

move on to Foundation Degrees in Art or

Photography.

Our students will be studying at universities all

over the country, from Bournemouth to Lancaster,

Liverpool to Sussex, and including Russell Group

Universities: Sheffield, Birmingham, UCL, Kings

College, Bristol, Leeds, Manchester and Sheffield.

We wish all of them continued success and

happiness.

The Highgate Wood School Sixth Form admissions

process is about to begin.

The key dates are as follows:

Application for places opens:

Monday 18th November 2014

6th Form Open Evening:

Wednesday 26th November 2014

Deadline for 1st round applications:

Wednesday 14th January 2015

Interviews for prospective students:

Week beginning: 19th January 2015

The 2015 printed prospectus and updated website

will be available for Open Evening. Please be

aware that some course information, including

entry criteria, will differ from that available in 2014

due to the changes that are happening to A Level

courses and the different demands of new syllabi.

For more information about our Sixth Form please

visit the website or email

[email protected]

SIXTH FORM ADMISSION PROCESS


20

OPEN EVENING

Ms Allaway writes:

Thanks to everyone who was involved in our hugely

successful Open Evening and Open Mornings in

October.

We had more than 700 families coming to see us

and everyone seemed thoroughly impressed with

the school.

They were impressed with our facilities, they

enjoyed Mr Cozier’s speech and they liked our

displays. But most of all they were impressed by our

student helpers.

As one of our followers on twitter declared that

evening. “A big round of applause for all your

students who led tours today. They were lovely

ambassadors for both school and teenagers.”

We currently have a slide show of some of the

pictures taken on the evening on our website. We

also hope to be able to publish an on-line version of

Mr Cozier’s presentation.

Thanks again to all those involved.


21

Rudy Berman Maya Culverwell 7H Hugo Clague Olivia Small 7A Rudy Tonkinson Sabine Kikuchi-House 7W

Bradley Kentish Melika Chambers 7I Adem Bayoumi Buse Kiran 7T Yakup Amasyali Sylvie Keen 7D

Jack Walker Ramneet Bains 7G Pending Pending 7E Sam Levy Star Snall 7S

Jamie Muteba Ruby Morgan 8H Matthew Mackie Louise Cole-Legate 8A Cass Beckford Kliona Cupi 8W

Dilara Kasapoglo Eliezer Chiquete 8I Brandon Durand Hana Basla 8T Jake Milligan Noa Yaron 8D

Rebecca M Tia Dyett 8G Sonny Hume Paton Freya Dougan 8E Toby Wycott-Smith Charlote Whelan 8S

Danny Button Stacey Slawinski 9H Marwan Al Khalaf Savannah Mundle 9A Louis Giles Elle-Mae Netherton 9W

Klevis Kokoshi Eva Parfitt 9I Alex Diaferia Maria Lyons 9T Haydar Bolat Nancy Mahon 9D

Freddie Notter Abirami Karunithi 9G Pending Pending 9E Max Cowie Aiesha Shallo 9S

Lloyd Bolton Laura Gibbons 10H Dylan Jennings Scarlett Monaighan 10A Kiehm Assare-Sonkour Lucy Whelan 10W

Joshua Rodney Carolina Cimatti 10I Frankie Foster Jace Griffiths 10T Jake Hamilton Alice Bowen 10D

Tarrel Watson-Noel Ebony Walcott 10G Ibrahim Sertkaya Amy T-L 10E Jay Singhal Leila Kikuchi-House 10S

Issi Bolongaro Anilcan Polat 11H Umut Ortac Mowenna Taylor 11A Giuliano Planamura Isabella Considine 11W

Freyaz Khan Berivan Korkmaz 11I Alex Carter Jones Beth Gosschalk 11T Max Curier Celine Gyamfi 11D

Koray Malitte Jessica Parker 11G Aaron E D Martha Berkmann 11E Aaron Pettitt Sophie Lemmon 11S

SCHOOL COUNCIL 2014

Well done to all those who have been elected as

the Form Reps for the School Council this year.

More information on the School Council’s plans and

activities will be included in the next Insight

Ms Allaway writes:

Congratulations to our most recent Jack Petchey Award

Winners.

Name of award winner: Stacey Slawinski

Stacey is an incredibly helpful student who works hard for the

school. She has been recognised for her enthusiasm and

initiative and has been complemented by visitors to the school

as an outstanding example of our school values.

Name of award winner: Jamil Shallo

Jamil represented the school in the speak out challenge and

made it through to the regional final as a runner up where he

gave an inspirational speech. He is always enthusiastic, always

positive and helpful.

Name of award winner: Lucas Merriman

Lucas has overcome some difficulties with determination and a

positive attitude. He has made big improvements to his learning

and has been recognised by all his teachers as a student with

great potential to excel.

Noreen Ryan was awarded a leader award

Students and staff felt that Noreen was always kind and helpful

and that she was the heart of Highgate Wood School and we all

wanted to mark this and recognise publicly her contribution.

JACK PETCHEY AWARD WINNERS


22

Ms Ereira writes:

We are delighted

to be participating

in the Bookbuzz programme.

Each Year 7 student has been given a list of 12

really exciting titles to choose from.

They will receive a free copy of their chosen book

and we hope that as many students as possible will

write a short review for the LRC. Review templates

and forms are available in the LRC, and Vivos will

be awarded for completed reviews.

Ms Sayers writes:

Debate mate is back!

All Key Stage 3 students are

welcome to Debate Mate which

will be taking place in the LRC

after half-term.

This is a great opportunity for anyone who wants

their voice to be heard! You will have the

opportunity to be trained by a debater from a top

university and to compete at both a local and

national level!

If you are interested please come to the LRC after

school on Wednesdays.

DEBATE MATE

LRC OPENING TIMES

The LRC is open before school from 8.15am

every school day except Mondays.

It is also open at break time, lunchtime and

after school until 4.30pm. The LRC will be closed for after-school clubs on

the following days:

Debate Mate: Wednesdays Week 1 and Week 2

Book Club: Mondays Week 1

BUZZING BOOKS

Ms Ereira writes:

Following the success of the Accelerated Reader

scheme last year, Year 7 and Year 8 are both

participating this year.

The scheme is designed to encourage reading for

pleasure and we are very pleased to see so many

readers enjoying books and completing quizzes.

There is a weekly competition board up in the LRC

showing which forms are reading the most and

scoring the highest in their quizzes – and the names

of the students who are achieving the most.

MAKING THE MOST OF MATHS

Mr Gowan writes

Monday’s (Week 1) will be book club day for

students from Years 7, 8 and 9.

Come to the LRC to share your favourite books and

write reviews for a school magazine.

Biscuits are free!

Ms Golamgouse writes:

This term saw the launch of

Making the Most of Maths to

raise the profile of maths skills in

other subjects and help students

to apply their mathematical

knowledge in lots of different

contexts.

Look out for more information

that will be appearing soon, in

booklets and on the website.

HWS BOOKCLUB


23

Mr Talbert writes:

In September, Highgate Wood School had the

pleasure of taking 20 Year 7 students to the launch

of the BAFTA Young Game Designers competition,

launched at the 2014 Eurogamer Expo at Earls

Court.

BAFTA YOUNG GAME DESIGNERS @EGX14

Prior to the trip students had to devise an idea for

a video game which they would further develop at

the event and came up with some brilliant game

concepts.

The students learnt about the process of how a

video game is made and had a fantastic and

inspiring time. Early next year, Year 7 students will

be developing game ideas to enter in this year’s

Bafta Young Game Designers competition as part of

their Computer Science homework for Unit 7.3.

SAM LEARNING GOLD AWARD

Mr Ashman writes:

Well done to all those students who made use of

SAMLearning last year. It would have helped you

succeed with your learning, and it also allowed the

school to win a Gold Award, which was presented

to Mr Cozier by Simon Reynolds last week.

In advance of his visit, SAM Learning wrote to say:

“a massive well done for your usage last year with

SAM Learning.

You have been awarded a Gold certificate which is

fantastic! You are one of only a handful of schools

and we would love to come in and present this to

you.”

All Highgate Wood School students have an

account for SAM Learning.

Your username and password are the same: your

date of birth followed by your initials (eg

020998ZG). The centre ID is N8HW. Their website

address is www.samlearning.com

Any problems logging on please email

[email protected].

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

AUTUMN 2014

Mon 1st September

27th Oct - 31st Oct

Friday 19th Dec

Term Starts

Half term break

Term Ends

SPRING 2015

Mon 5th Jan

16th Feb– 20th Feb

Friday 27th March

Term Starts

Half term break

Term Ends

SUMMER 2015

Mon 13th April

25h—29th May

Friday 17th July

Term Starts

Half term break

Term Ends*

Late Start for students (10:35 am) due

to staff training.

Thurs 13th Nov

Year 11 Mock Exams 1st—12th Dec

Winter Concert 16th—18th Dec

Half Term Starts Monday 3rd Nov

Term begins again on

Monday 3rd November 2014

at 8:35am

It will be Week 1

End of Term Friday 19th Dec

* Term ends for students

Year 9 Parents’ Evening Tuesday 4th Nov

insight 20

Documents

school budget

school minibus

school site

new school year

chair of governors

new students

fireworks issue

successful year