Summer 2026

1 May – NEWSLETTER

EDITION 63

Head’s Welcome

Dear Parents and Carers,

It was fantastic to see so many Year 9 parents and carers at our Parents’ Evening yesterday. As a reminder, Year 9s have until Tuesday 5 May to submit their preferred subjects for their GCSEs.

This week we share the amazing news that our Year 7 netball team triumphed at their recent tournament in Islington. We also hear about the Year 8 trip to the West End and their thoughts and reflections after watching Hamilton.

Please enjoy reading the rest of this week’s newsletter.

Tim Fox
Headteacher

annual parent/carer and student survey

Our annual ‘parent/carer and student survey’ has now been sent out. We would appreciate if parents/carers would sit down with their child to fill out the form. The school values the views of all parents, carers, and students and your feedback can help shape the school in the future.

The survey is anonymous, but it is useful to know your child’s year group, so that we can identify any trends or patterns within year groups.

The survey will close on Monday 11 May.

SHARE YOUR FEEDBACK

Sixth Form Success

HAVE YOU HEARD THE BUZZ IN SIXTH FORM?

During Monday form time, Year 12 students upcycled old mugs and card to create colourful beehives. This annual tradition in the Sixth Form brings together students in a fun task to celebrate the start of the summer term. Some students even felt inspired to add fresh flowers, including bluebells and forget-me-nots from the Sixth Form garden!

Their creations now hang on trees at our designated Sixth Form site on Aberdeen Park – and don’t they look brilliant in the sunshine! Let’s hope the hives attract some buzzy friends in the coming weeks.

Year 13 cHEMISTRY pRACTICAL

Written by Karima, Year 13

This week we carried out Thin-Layer Chromatography (TLC) between 5 different chemicals: Anadin, aspirin, paracetamol, ibruprofen and caffeine. We placed a spot of each chemical onto a pencil line on the TLC plate, which we then placed into the ethyl acetate solvent to allow the spots to rise up the plate.

We then observed the colours produced by the different spot samples under UV light (without UV light the spots are not visible). The colours produced were absolutely gorgeous. We then marked and measured how far the solvent travelled as a ratio of the solvent line.

The spots that aligned indicated a common chemical between those samples . For example the spot produced by caffeine and Anadin both aligned so we knew Anadin must contain traces of caffeine.

It was very nice spending the final Chemistry practical together, as a class. However, we chemists collectively agreed to never stand near ethyl acetate ever again – it stank!

Work experience Support needed

We are currently looking to secure work experience placements for our Year 12 students on 25 – 26 June 2026. In particular, we are searching for placements in the following areas of work:

Law
Journalism and media
Healthcare
STEM

If you can help the school source placements for our Sixth Formers, please email Ms Douse: rdouse@highburyfields.islington.sch.uk.

Trips and Enrichment Activities

uPCOMING Trips

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We have some fantastic trips lined up. Scroll through the carousel below to see what’s in store for each Key Stage.

Parent volunteers needed

There are many trips coming up for which we are seeking parent volunteers. If you are willing to chaperone students on any of the following trips, please email rdouse@highburyfields.islington.sch.uk or call the school. The approximate time commitment is also included below:

Year 10 Noughts & Crosses Drama trip: 13 May (11am – 4:30pm)
Year 10 Neals Yard Dairy trip: 19 May (9am – 1:30pm)
Year 10 Imperial War Museum: 26 June (8:30am – 3:30pm).

making a splash in water sports!

This week, our water sports students had their first taste of being on the water in 2026! The trip saw both returners and new faces learning to kayak and playing games with their kayaks on the water.

There was laughter, splashing, and a whole lot of well deserved fun, which they can’t wait to repeat next week. It was a great way to destress, have lots of giggles and make new friends.

year 8s in the room where it hAPPENS

Over the last two weeks, our Year 8 students had the opportunity to attend a performance of Hamilton in London’s West End.

The show captivated our students, many of whom were experiencing live theatre in the West End for the very first time. The impact was clear; students returned animated, reflective and eager to discuss what they had seen, from the music and choreography to the historical themes and storytelling techniques.

These visits exemplify the school’s belief that access to culture is a vital part of education. By enabling every student in the year group to attend, we aim to remove barriers and ensure that all students, regardless of background, can benefit from these opportunities.

We are incredibly proud of how Year 8 conducted themselves throughout both weeks. Their enthusiasm, curiosity and maturity were evident at every stage and they dealt with the London Underground strikes with flexibility and good spirits!

Other news from across the school

BEST DRESSED AT BOOK WEEK

On the last day of our spring term we held a book character dress up day in recognition of HFS Book Week. We had everything from Queens to bears, from Roald Dahl to J.R.R Tolkien.

In celebration of the best costumes (as picked by our Year 13 English Literature students) we awarded ‘Best Dressed’ to:

Year 7 – Munira as Rapunzel
Year 8 – Hannah as Minion
Year 9 – Le’Mae as The Queen of Hearts
Year 10 – Serena as Queen Elizabeth I
Year 11 – Rayah as Glinda the Good Witch
Year 12/13 – Elena as Horrid Henry

A big congratulations to all our winners and to everyone who took part in dressing up and bringing their favourite characters to life.

Year 7 Netball Team Triumphs in Islington Tournament

Our Year 7 netball team has achieved an outstanding victory at their recent tournament. From the very first game, it was clear that this team came prepared and focused. Their sharp passing, excellent communication, and confident shooting set them apart, while their resilience and positive attitude kept them going in even the most challenging moments.

A special well done goes to Bilen, Violet and Safa who stood out for their incredible sportsmanship, showing that success is not just about winning, but also about how you play the game and treat others in our community. This attitude truly reflects the values we strive to uphold.

Congratulations to the entire team on this fantastic accomplishment, you have made the school proud!

TERM DATES

Term dates for 2026-2027 are now available to view on our website.

TERM DATES

STUDENT SPOTLIGHTS

Rosa’s MINI MARATHON

Last Saturday saw 20,000 children running in the TCS Mini London Marathon. One of those runners was our very own Rosa in Year 7, who ran a mighty 2.6km. Rosa had been selected to run for Hackney in the under 14s category (which was televised by the BBC!).

We’re incredibly proud of Rosa’s extraordinary accomplishment and we’re very excited to see where she runs next!

This article was shared by Rosa’s mum. Share your child’s news to be featured in our next newsletter.

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⭐ ⭐ ⭐ HFS Rewards ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Attendance

Here are top performing forms for attendance last week:

Top Forms for Attendance
Year 7: 7/Frida Kahlo – 100%
Year 8: 8/Marie Curie – 98.42%
Year 9: 9/Maya Angelou – 98.81%
Year 10: 10/Angela Carter – 98.69%
Year 11: 11/Margot Fonteyn – 98.64%
Sixth Form: 12/Berta Cáceres- 100%

Merit Awards

Congratulations to all students who achieved merit milestones last week.

60 Merits
head of year Merit
.

Year 8: Mariam and Helin
Year 11: Rumeysa

.

120 Merits
Headteacher Merit
.

Year 7: Edilish and Sarah
Year 8: Scarlett-Rae, Sadie and Agustina
Year 11: Jasmine, Jamila, Zainab, and Mamie Fatou

.

240 Merits
Board of Governors Merit

Year 7: Avana-Mae and Temidayo
Year 8: Nell, Emily, Kiah, Alice, Hanna
Year 11: Mamie Fatou

.

Students of the week

This academic year, we have introduced ‘Students of the Week’ to recognise individuals who have demonstrated excellent commitment to learning and the community. Here are the successful students from last week:

Year 7
7/Chimamanda Adichie – Lauren
7/Frida Kahlo – Munira and Hawi
7/Helen Sharman – Sara
7/Junko Tabei – Hadjer
7/Rosa Parks – Jameela
7/ Winona LaDuke – Anaiya, Maia, Maeve, and Bonnie.

Year 8
8/Alicia Keys – Nada
8/Jane Goodall – Maryam
8/Margaret Atwood – Sadie.

Year 9
9/Barbara Hepworth – Holly
9/Helen Keller – Zohra
9/Katherine Johnson – Amra
9/Maya Angelou – Fatimazahra
9/Olga Korbut – Tanzilla, Anna, and Zayna
9/Wangari Maathai – Lila.

Year 10
10/Jacqueline Du Pré – Kenza
10/Kadambini Ganguly – Jasmine and Victoria
10/Nicola Adams – Hajira and Lilly
10/Sylvia Earle – Dejanee.

Year 11
11/Ada Lovelace – Ayana
11/Malala Yousafzai – Amy
11/Margot Fonteyn – Melaniia.

Our Parent Community

The Hidden Dangers of Pinterest

Pinterest tends to fly under the radar. Unlike Instagram or TikTok, it has never attracted the same level of public concern; it’s older, it’s built around image collections, and most of us consider it benign, if we think about it at all.

The White Hatter, a Canadian digital safety organisation, published a blog post highlighting that platforms presenting as visual or creative tools (eg. Pinterest, VSCO, Tumblr, Lemon8, and Canva) often include messaging features that are not obvious.

The question worth considering is not “what app is my child using?” but “what can that app actually do?”

Read the White Hatter blog post